Shooting for the Moon
by Nutzoide
Summary: The sequel to 'Fallen Stars'. The five Senshi have returned to Japan, but the ripples from their extradimensional adventure will reach further than any of them could have expected.
1. Home Sweet Tokyo!

Shooting for the Moon: Chapter 0

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

Story notes: This is the sequel to my previous fan-fiction Fallen Stars. If you haven't read that then please do so before starting in on this story, because it won't make the slightest bit of sense unless you know what has brought the characters to this point. It's all pretty convoluted stuff! Oh, and as before it will be shoujo-ai flavoured.

---

Shooting for the Moon

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 0: Home Sweet Tokyo!

A Silent Return for the Dispossessed Girls.

Minako blinked, staring up at a night sky that had been filled with an early afternoon sun only moments ago. She groaned loudly, wondering why she hurt. There didn't seem to be a single muscle in her body that didn't ache, and her head throbbed painfully. She must have hit it when she landed.

Across from her she heard Rei's voice, grousing as usual. "I forgot how much that sucked the first time around."

Minako blinked away the last of the cartoon stars that were playing in front of her eyes and sat up. When she finally got her eyes to focus she could see Rei and Makoto lying in a heap on the grass just a few feet away. They were both looking rather relieved though. It must have been nice, having each other to break their falls. But why were they looking so annoyed at her?

"Idiot! Get out of the way!" Rei yelled at her. "Before..."

Ahh, so that was it, Minako thought. It was just a shame that she hadn't twigged it for herself before Ami and Haruka were catapulted into her. The three of them collided in a ball of flailing limbs and Minako found herself buried under her friends. "Ouuuch..."

"Ohhhh..." Ami moaned, trying to remember how to pick herself up. "S-sorry Minako-chan... Ow..."

Minako just groaned some more. "Please..." she begged, twitching slightly, "Haruka-san... you're heavy..."

Haruka, propped upside down on Minako's stomach, just huffed. "What exactly are you insinuating?" she asked, wishing Ami would move her bag enough to let her free. After landing at such an angle Haruka was surprised that she hadn't broken something.

"I did warn you," Rei said as she watched the three of them disentangle themselves.

Minako glared at her as soon as she had managed to sit up again. "What warning? You only just finished calling me names when they hit me!"

"Hey," Rei shot back, turning away with a huff, "we had the presence of mind to move before you fell on us."

Then Makoto's voice broke through the fledgling argument. A quiet, awe-filled voice. "Uhh, guys? Look."

The others all blinked and followed her gaze, just in time to see the last of the flames boil away into the cool night air. What was left of the portal, the liquid disk of non-space that they had walked through to get there, spilled out of its fading confines and into the air, where it was absorbed like water disappearing into a sponge.

"That's it," Makoto said, placing her hand over Rei's, as if affirming their success. "We're home."

It was only then that the others actually took the time to look around them. The night wasn't the deep blackness they had become used to in that strange and fantastic world. The street lights and the shine from the buildings filled the air with a warm, artificial glow. Even sitting in the park they could see the pathways lit up for those wanting to stroll during the midnight hours.

Juuban park, looking just the way they remembered it. They sat in the exact same spot from where their enemy had cast them out of their world over two months ago. The place was empty now, but maybe that was just as well. It would have been awkward to explain why the five of them had just appeared out of thin air.

Minako felt invigorated, knowing where they were now. After all this time she was home. She threw up her arms with a whoop, her bruises suddenly forgotten. "Wa-hoooooo! We made it! Those crazy old guys did it! Ha-haa!"

Her smile lit up her face and she staggered to her feet, only to twirl herself around in the moonlight like a giddy schoolgirl before flopping back onto the grass, her hair escaping from its netting and fanning out majestically beneath her. "Hee hee, I'm going to be so sore," she giggled, while the others just watched her antics with their own inner glows of happiness.

Haruka stretched herself out and got to her feet, massaging her abused neck even as she smiled. "I wonder what the date is," she said, pondering the question to herself. They had been away for what had seemed to be a little over two months, but who knew how that related to the time that had passed back there in Tokyo. Time had passed, that much was obvious seeing that the park was empty and it was well into the night, but by how much? In what direction even?

And more importantly to Haruka, what had happened during that time?

Ami had to mirror those thoughts. What had her mother done in her absence? Did she think that she was dead? She hoped that whatever the case was, it hadn't affected her mother's work. And Usagi; what had she thought when they had been cast out of their world, and right in front of her too?

It was a lot to think about when they had only just got back. "You guys stay put," Ami said, following Haruka in getting to her unsteady feet. "I'll find a newspaper."

"Roger!" Minako replied from the grass, giving her a playful thumbs up. Right then, unlike the others, Minako didn't want to think about the difficult stuff. She just wanted to enjoy the moment. She had put on a brave face as they had all waited for the portal to appear in that world of feudal fantasy, but in truth her insides had been knotted up. The nagging fear Haruka had brought up had played on her mind; that the burning gateway might not have got them where they had wanted to go. Now it was all okay and she could let herself go, if only for a short while. Whatever happened next would happen regardless of whether she worried or not, so what was the point?

Her joyful respite was short lived though, and Ami soon returned with an up-to-date paper. It seemed as though time had passed in Tokyo just as it had in the land of Seiji, and the unpleasant trips from one world to the other hadn't interfered with the matter of when they had appeared. They had been gone for about two months in Tokyo as well, and the paper even mentioned the Sailor Senshi, as well as their reticence to give anyone any information on how they were coping having lost a full half of their women. Not that they had ever spoken to the press beforehand either. Why would this have changed things?

So, Usagi and the others had won after all it seemed, but their absence had been very obvious. No doubt the journalists would have a similar field day with their return.

"And it means summer is nearly here!" Ami worried. "We have to catch up on all our work! My medicine exams must be coming up soon!"

Once they had finished reading Rei sighed, and detached herself from Makoto's arm. "I guess I'd better go home. I want to see Grandpa again. I... I need to tell him what I've done."

Makoto shook her head. "What -we've- done," she amended, giving Rei's hand a gentle squeeze. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Rei smiled at her with clear, emotional eyes, but she still declined. "Yes, but I think I have to do this on my own. Besides, he's old. Having 'us' on top of everything might give him a heart attack!"

Makoto deflated a little but she understood. "Okay. I suppose I'd better make sure my landlord hasn't sold my apartment anyway!"

They all had homes to go to after all, so after a round of hugs and goodbyes they began to wander off into the night. However, as they did Haruka noticed that Minako didn't follow their lead. She just lay on the grass, looking thoughtfully up at what stars they could see through the smattering of cloud and the glow of the artificial lights. A glow that struck them both as rather a shame. Nights in Seiji had been the deepest black, and in turn the stars had held a sense of power as they hung in the sky.

"Minako-chan? What's up?" Haruka finally asked. "I'd have thought you would want to see your parents again after all this. And Artemis."

Minako nodded. "Yeah," she replied, digging through her large bag, "I do. But Artemis will just grill me for information once he's finished pawing at me, and my Mum and Dad will be jumping off the ceiling at me for running away like this!" She grinned, producing her cell phone. "You know how parents are, right? I think a warning call is in order before the flan hits the... err... the fan."

Haruka nodded with a chuckle. For her, parental tempers were a distant and unpleasant memory, but Minako was Minako and her mangled sayings could help anyone forget their worries. "I get you. Take care then."

Minako's grin faded into a simple, calm smile. "Thanks. Give my love to Michiru-san and Hotaru-chan."

Haruka nodded with a grin of her own. "And Setsuna?"

Minako giggled at the thought of Setsuna being upset for being left out. "If she cares then I bet she knows already!"

Then, after Haruka had left, Minako sat up in the grass with her bag in her lap, and dialled for home. It took an age - it was past midnight after all - but her mother finally picked up. Even if she was annoyed at being woken it was still so good to hear her voice, and Minako found herself with a few happy tears in her eyes.

"Hi Mum. It's me."

---

Rei had been given a lot to think about during her visit to Seiji. Now that she was alone - properly alone for the first time in a long while - she found that, whether she wanted to or not, some long overdue thinking had begun. It was a long walk back to her shrine after all.

For years now she had been so sure of what she wanted out of life, and so sure of who she was. By day she was a student of reasonable grades, working for her keep with her grandfather as a shrine maiden. Those activities kept her busy and limited the time she could relax with the other girls, but they were rewarding as well. Her dreams of stardom, unlike Minako's, had been tempered as she had grown up, and now she sang just for her own pleasure - and that of anyone who wanted to listen of course. It had depressed her when the talent scouts had passed her by, but she had come to find a growing satisfaction in preparing to take over from her grandfather.

And by night, or whenever it was needed really, she was Sailor Mars, defender of love, justice and righteousness. She would protect the innocent and burn away the evils that threatened the peaceful land of Japan, and the peaceful planet of Earth.

Then, all of a sudden, she was the one wielding the powers of evil, even if they had been in a good cause. Every dream of hers had been ridiculed and pulled apart from inside her own mind. She had killed the innocent, because otherwise the innocent would have killed her and her friends.

She had been forced to see that in order for her to run the shrine, her grandfather would have to die. He was old, she had known he could not live forever, but she didn't want to have to face up to it yet. Not when the old letch still had the time and the energy to keep going. He was all she had left of her family now.

And likewise, in order for Crystal Tokyo to be built, the old Tokyo - her home - would have to die. Maybe it would be in a few years, or maybe in a few hundred, but it would happen. It had to.

Rei hated it, but maybe that was how Sailor Pluto was forced to think, she mused in her morbid little cloud. The 'Outers' had always said that the end justified the means. Did that mean that they would have to fail to protect the world, or just stand back and let it crumble, in order for the future to be born? Was that just? Could she stand by and let people suffer, so that a greater number did not have to?

She knew the answer to that, because she already had. Masquerading as the Seraphi, they had trampled on the lives of Seiji's nobility in order that the common people might live better lives. It was a good cause, she knew they had done the right thing, but there would be noblemen that suffered because of it. There had been soldiers who had died because of it. At her hands. Their hands.

Rei fought back her encroaching sobs. Ami and Minako had killed men as well, and Haruka and Makoto had crippled others. They had borne the weight of it, so Rei forced herself to be strong. She would bear it too. They had not had a choice after all.

And from there she found the flip side. She had found happiness in Seiji too. She had found Makoto, not as the friend she had treasured for so long, but as something more. Somehow, as Rei had wallowed in her own inability to cope with her literal inner demon, Makoto had come to her rescue, and somewhere down the line Makoto had come to love her.

Rei had been incredulous, but she had also put aside her girlish need for romance for far too long. And, in humouring her athletic friend, she had come to share Makoto's feelings. In such a short space of time her ideas for the future had seen Makoto there to meet her at the shrine after her day's work. It wasn't a pinkly romantic fantasy, but just a nice warming thought that she found herself unable to let go of, even if she had wanted to.

She did not know how Makoto had come to love her, but looking at it now, and without the constant demonic voice inside her head, she really did know that she had fallen in love too.

And then, making her way up the steps to the shrine, her mood rocking like a seesaw, she would be brought back to her more immediate worries. She could keep her secrets from Usagi - she didn't think she could bear the look of disappointment in the girl's eyes if she knew the whole truth - but she could not keep them from her grandfather. He was a mad old pervert, but behind his eccentricities he was the wisest and most perceptive person Rei knew. He would be able to see right through any act that she put on, so she would tell him everything.

Of course, as it turned out, it wasn't quite that simple. It was gone midnight when she had got home after all, and the old man was fast asleep.

Rei just smiled a sad smile as she watched him. 'I'm sorry Grandpa,' she thought, 'I've let us both down. Please forgive me.'

Of course, he would. He would want to know that what she had done had been justified, and he would be happy not to hear any more about it. She had suffered enough for her sins already. At least, that was what she wanted to believe.

---

Makoto breathed a sigh of relief when her key slid scratchily into the lock on her apartment door and turned with such a familiar click. Given the time that had passed she had worried that her landlord might have decided to rent the place out on the assumption that she wasn't coming back. She had already been close to 'rent day' when she had disappeared, and she wasn't in the least bit surprised when she found herself wading through two month's worth of post in the entryway.

She gave herself enough time to get inside and take off her shoes before scooping up all the envelopes and taking them out to her living room, to be deposited on the table there. Then she watched in horror as a plume of dust rose up from the table as the pile of unopened papers disturbed it. Living alone had its drawbacks, and Makoto sighed heavily before giving a small sneeze. She really didn't want to have to clean just then. If nothing else she wanted to try and get some sleep. She wasn't in the least bit tired, but she knew that she would soon end up with the closest thing to jet lag that she would ever experience.

Ignoring the thin film of dust that had settled over everything she flopped down onto her settee, and held her breath until the resulting cloud had settled. 'I'll have to spend tomorrow cleaning,' she thought to herself with a hint of annoyance. She guessed it had been too much to hope for just to return and bask in the glow of being back in her own home.

But then, that glow wasn't as strong as she had thought it would be. As she sat, staring at the ceiling, it struck her how silent the place seemed. Unnaturally silent, save for the occasional car that passed outside. Had it always been that quiet?

The lack of noise was only part of it though, she realised. She was alone, and she hadn't felt that way since... since before her nomadic foster family had picked her up in Seiji. After that she had always had someone around her, day or night. She had always shared a room or a tent for the night. Even as a prisoner, locked away in her own private cell-coach there had been the constant milling of the guards.

Now, for the first time in she didn't know how long, Makoto began to feel a pang of loneliness. She missed the others. More to the point, she missed Rei.

'No,' she told herself, shaking her head and getting to her feet to put on a CD. 'That's not the way to think.' If that was the worst of it for her, then what was she complaining about? She had always lived alone. She had better things to think about, like being glad that they were all back home. That Rei didn't have to live with a demonette inside her any more. That Ami, Minako and Haruka could see their families again.

That she could go and see Rei again tomorrow, or any time she liked. That she, Kino Makoto, was in love!

That brought a guiltily giddy smile to her face. Despite everything, despite herself and her stupid crushes and her stupid body, someone could actually love her back. She had tried so hard and for so long, and she had finally found what she had been looking for, and that person had been right under her nose all along.

But still, that didn't solve her immediate problem. The cleaning could wait, as could the post. The majority of that would be an unmanageable number of bills anyway, and since she would have undoubtedly lost her part time job after two months in another world her savings fund would end up taking a nasty hit. There wasn't any point in dwelling on it. It was inevitable anyway.

No, what she could do was stop herself wallowing in her sudden solitude. The others all had people to return to, so they would all be pre-occupied tonight, but Usagi deserved to know they were back. It was the middle of the night, but if one of them didn't call as soon as possible they would never hear the end of it!

She could just imagine Usagi's pretty face contorted into a groggy scowl while she fumbled for the phone, and Makoto waited patiently as the ringing tone repeated itself.

Then the tone cut out and a scratchy, feminine voice mumbled its way out of the earpiece. " Chiba residence. It's late. Go to bed already."

Makoto giggled, happy beyond words to hear that voice. "Hi Usagi-chan, I'm sorry. I just wanted to tell you that we're back. It's Makoto."

Then Makoto found herself with the phone at arm's length as Usagi tried to deafen her with her ecstatic replies. Mamoru had to take the phone off her before Makoto could get a full sentence in. She had to laugh. It was good to be back.

---

Ami found her fingers trembling as she tried to fish her keys out from the depths of her travelling bag. She had not even managed to get into her mother's condominium yet and her imagination was already running riot. She both hoped her mother would be at home and, at the same time, hoped that the large, spacious apartment would be empty, as it so often was when she arrived back from her classes. The desire to hug her mother - to assure her that she was back and that she was okay - was overpowering. And, to do that, her mother would have to be giving up her work, and Ami would have to wait until at least two in the morning until her mother's afternoon-to-evening shift was over.

Ami smiled to herself as her fingers finally worked and her key slid into the lock with a click. She hoped that the latter was the case. It was already late after all, so she wouldn't have long to wait.

It was almost with a sigh of relief that she found the apartment shrouded in darkness, and she slipped off her shoes before turning the lights on. "I'm home," she whispered to herself.

That thought made her smile. She was home. Away from the supposedly heroic madness of Seiji, away from the things they had done there, and back to her normal life. A life where she could study properly, with her friends. A life where she could forget these last few months.

Of course, she wouldn't forget them, but no-one else had to know. They would be her happy memories. Her painful memories. Her memories of things that she should never have done. Haruka, Rei, Makoto and Minako would let her pretend, the same way that she would let them pretend. Those things didn't matter now. They had normal lives to get on with.

She didn't tempt fate by thinking too hard about it. Instead she headed for her room. She found herself giggling when she saw the plaque on the door, emblazed with her name. It seemed like such a silly thing now, but she felt a warm glow in her chest. It was something that was hers, and had been for as long as she had lived.

And inside her room remained untouched. Her bed was made ready for her, her books lay where she had left them, and only the lack of dust showed that anyone had been in since she had been gone. Slowly Ami stepped in and closed the door behind her, immersing herself in the feeling of her own room again. She changed out of the old school uniform she had worn and set it out to wash, grateful that she had such an unnatural attraction to the outfit. She hadn't needed to wear one since enrolling at university, but she still kept all her uniforms. She couldn't begin to think how lucky she had been to have it with her when they had been attacked and sent to Seiji. It was a little too small for her now, but it had comforted her when she had been homesick.

She slipped a night dress on and padded back out into the apartment proper. She really wasn't tired, it was only mid-afternoon for her after all, so it would not be a chore to wait for her mother to return.

Of course, there was that little, nagging doubt. What if her mother wouldn't return? What if something had happened since she had last been there? What if she had had to go away?

'No,' she thought, 'don't think like that. My key worked, so she must still be here.'

And what if she didn't want a daughter that had killed a man? That had shot a crossbow into his chest and taken his life. What if she didn't want a daughter who would steal someone's lover for herself?

"No!" Ami shouted into the silent, empty room. "It wasn't like that."

She took a deep breath and composed herself, forcing back whatever tears had been threatening to spoil her return. It didn't matter what had happened. It didn't matter how she felt. They were secrets that she would bury. She would keep her happy memories, and everything else was history. She found herself smiling again. They had done more than enough good, both for the land of Seiji and for each other, to make up for anything else that had happened.

It was only when she went to fetch herself a drink, something to calm her excited nerves, that she saw the note.

It was written in her mother's neat, exacting script, but it was creased and the edges were distressed. As if it had been read and worried over many times.

'My Dearest Ami,

'I hope that you will somehow find yourself reading this. I don't know when that might be, or how or why you might come back, but I will not give up hope that you will. People have told me all sorts of things about why you have gone, and I don't know what to believe now.

'But, if you aren't going to stay, then please at least leave me some kind of message. I need to know that you are well, and happy. If it was me that drove you away then I am sorry. I know I have been hard on you, and have never given you the kind of attention that you deserved. I know you blame me for your father leaving us. Just know that I love you more than anything else in this world, and that if you ever need anything then I will do what I can to provide it for you.

'I won't believe that you were caught up in the battles of the Sailor Senshi. I just can't, no matter what they all say. But if you were, then I hope you have found peace.

'I am only sorry I am not there to welcome you home. If you have returned for good, I don't need to know why, but I will make time to hear you if you need to talk. That I promise.

'Also, please forgive me if I do something rash. It is only because I am so worried for you.

'I will always love you,

'Mother

Ami stood staring at the note for a long time, tears coursing down her face. Had her mother really believed that she would want to run away? But then, what else could she think? She had been gone for so long without so much as a goodbye.

Ami had hoped the apartment would be empty, but right then she wanted someone, anyone, to be there with her. But now she couldn't even call anyone. She wanted to hear Makoto's soothing voice on the other end of the telephone so badly, just like it used to be when they each needed someone else around.

She knew it was selfish, but she had to try.

However, surely Makoto had her own problems right now, and that thought was confirmed when all Ami could get was the busy tone. She forced herself to put the phone down. At least Makoto was being pro-active.

She clutched the letter to her chest and found herself crouching down to the floor as she began to cry in earnest. After everything she must have put her mother through, and after everything she had done since then, how did she even deserve to come home?

"I'm sorry Mother," she wept into the creased paper. "I'm so sorry!"

---

Haruka really couldn't believe it. Of all the times she could have forgotten her keys, it had to be the one afternoon that she ended up being banished to another world. So much for her smooth entrance. She just stood on the doorstep of the house she shared with the other 'Outer' Senshi and rang the door bell.

There weren't words for how badly she had missed them. Her strong, boyish facade covered a much more complex individual, and much of that outer strength had come out of having Michiru there with her. When they were together Haruka no longer felt the need to be the rude, standoffish girl she had been in her earlier years.

And then like that they had been taken from her. She had been left to re-learn that air of calm, playful stylishness that Michiru had nurtured within her. She had come to see how little life she had outside their family together, and how much she now needed someone there with her.

She had lost her love in the Marine Cathedral, and they had lost each other as Galaxia had cut them down for their arrogance. For people she held so dear, Haruka now saw all too well how incapable she was of keeping them safe and close to her.

But then, all soldiers faced those fears, didn't they? And she had been lucky to have so many second chances. Haruka smiled at those words as they popped into her head. They would have suited Minako very well.

Eventually the door did open, and Haruka found herself staring into the most beautiful pair of stunned, aquamarine eyes. Her heart leapt into her throat, but she didn't let it show. She just put on her smoothest smile. "I'm home."

The next thing that she knew was Michiru's head buried in her wrinkled shirt as her lover almost tackled her off her feet.

"You're alive!" Michiru sobbed hysterically as she tried to squeeze the life out of her prodigal girlfriend. Then in almost the same instant she broke their embrace and Haruka saw the daggers in her teary eyes. "Where have you been all this time! Why couldn't you tell us you were alright?! After all this time..."

Haruka was taken aback by the outburst, but it was hardly unexpected. Her more pressing concern was the way Michiru began to sway as she stood in the doorway. In one deft move Haruka took her in her arms before her girlfriend's legs could give out, and she ran a hand down Michiru's cheek as the young musician's eyes fluttered.

"Hey now," Haruka admonished gently, the pair of them gazing fondly at each other, "let's not swoon until we're both inside."

Michiru just nodded, trying not to faint and wrapping her arm around Haruka's neck. "I thought you were dead," she whispered with a grave air before she pulled Haruka to her in a long, loving kiss. One that had been far too long in coming for them both.

Haruka just nodded. Right now, filled with so much relief at being able to hold Michiru in her arms again, the rest of the world might not even have existed. "Forgive me?"

Michiru gave her a smirk. "Always Haruka."

Haruka never really knew what to make of those smirks, besides that Michiru was likely to be in an impishly playful mood, and at the strangest times too, but they were always a good sign. She would want answers and stories eventually, Haruka knew, but right now the fact that they were together again would be enough. Michiru managed to find her feet and press Haruka to herself as they shared another, passionate kiss. A kiss that held the promise of much more to come.

"Always."

---

To Be Continued...

---

Please leave any comments and criticisms you have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.

(c) Nutzoide 2007


	2. Back to Normal?

Shooting for the Moon: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

Story notes: This is -not- the start of the story! I recommend that you read the prologue (Chapter 0) first, as it both links this story with the first one, Fallen Stars, and sets up this new story properly.

---

Shooting for the Moon

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 1: Back to Normal?

Settling In is Hard to Do.

Mizuno Katsura had, in truth, already long lost hope that her daughter would ever return home again. She could tell herself whatever she wanted, and she could write all the notes in the world, and every night she would come home to the same empty apartment, knowing full well that the note would still be lying there unread. She was a modern, practical and realistic woman.

So practical that her medical work had always come before her family. Her husband had left them because she was so inflexible, and her daughter had never come to her when she had needed help. Ami's books had always been so much more reliable than a mother who wasn't there. But Katsura had always worked her hardest to further her career; healing as many people as she could, showing that a woman could be successful in Japan back when that was still so unusual, and earning the money that kept her and her daughter from wanting anything.

But what good was it now? All the jewellery in the world would not bring her daughter back to her. If Ami had run away, it was precisely because - deep inside - she had hated living like that. And if the newspapers and her gossiping neighbours were right, if her daughter had been caught in one of the Senshi's battles...

But Katsura indulged her meagre and irrational hopes. It was a mother's privilege, she told herself, to believe that her child was somewhere safe, and that one day she might come back home.

Every day the walk back up the stairs of the condominium to their apartment seemed to get a few steps longer, but any thoughts like that ended up being pushed to the back of her mind. For over a month now she had forced herself to stay occupied and think of other things, throwing everything she had behind her work at the hospital. She worked the extra late shifts and took on extra patients, if only to give herself something that would fill what little free time she had. She felt the worried stares of her co-workers on her back every day, either wondering when she might cave in or hoping that she would go easier on herself. But then, she loved her work. It kept her going, and reassured her that she was still needed somewhere now that home felt so empty.

But this time home was not empty. Katsura's key refused to turn in the lock. The middle aged doctor suddenly felt her fingers trembling as her nightly routine ground to a halt. Reaching out, almost scared of what she was doing, she took the doorknob in her hand and twisted. It turned freely, and the door swung open. Her eyes no longer felt so prickly and fatigued behind her glasses as she scanned the entrance hall.

Ami's shoes sat neatly by the step, and a large tied bag sat by the hall cupboard. Katsura could barely bring herself to believe it as a euphoric sense of relief exploded inside her, bringing tears of the utmost joy to her eyes. "Ami!"

She let her handbag fall as she dashed to her daughter's room and there, her cheeks stained with tears as she slept, was Ami. It was all Katsura could do to stop herself from hauling her daughter into her arms, but she forced herself to settle for just kneeling by her child's bed and taking one of Ami's hands in her own.

"Thank God," Katsura whispered as the tears poured down her cheeks. She couldn't even begin to think what her daughter had been through these last months, but the sight of Ami's own tearstained face was more worry than she could cope with right then.

Still, as careful as she had been, Ami's sleep had not been heavy, and the touch of her mother's hands was enough to stir her from her restless dreams. "Huh..?" she murmured as the world came back into focus, wondering where she was and why the ground was so soft.

Then she saw her mother's face hovering over her, and it all came flooding back. "M-mother..."

Katsura smiled through her freely flowing tears and clutched her daughter to her as Ami began to sob as well.

"Where have you been?" Katsura said, "Why couldn't you at least call me?"

Ami just shook her head as she cried into her mother's shoulder. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry Mother!"

That only confused Katsura further, but what anger she felt at Ami's disappearance was replaced with concern for her wellbeing as the girl broke down in her arms. "Ami, please tell me what happened. Are you alright?"

Ami sniffed and nodded, feeling herself smile in spite of her guilt. "I'm okay. I'm good Mother. I'm so sorry. I didn't run away. I never wanted to leave."

Katsura nodded, and she was beaming as she pulled her daughter away from her. "I'm glad. Are... are the other girls safe as well?"

Ami nodded again, and wiped at her eyes. "Yes. We're all okay now. It's over."

Katsura let out a sigh of relief at hearing that. If Ami thought it was over then whatever happened wouldn't be happening again. And it was good that Ami's friends were safe. They had been a godsend in being there for her, and Katsura liked them, even if they were rather frivolous. She knew that the ones who had been spared her daughter's fate had suffered greatly when Ami and the other girls had vanished.

"Ami," she pushed gently, not wanting to go too far when Ami had only just come back to her, "can you tell me what happened to you?"

Ami hesitated, and that worried her. Ami was a terrible liar, but she couldn't really blame her for wanting to avoid saying things now. For as much as Katsura cared about her, especially since Ami's father had left, the two of them had never been a close family. As long as she understood that, whatever it was, Ami could tell her about it, then Katsura would be satisfied. She had not spent nearly as much time with her daughter as she knew she should have, but she did know that Ami was trustworthy.

For her part Ami wanted nothing more that to pour out her soul. To lay down everything she had done and everything that had happened, and then she could live with the consequences, knowing that her conscience was clear. But that would mean telling her mother -everything-. About the years she had spent lying in order to be Sailor Mercury, so that she could put herself in harm's way, even if it was for a good cause. And, if her Mother knew the truth about Sailor Mercury, it would put them both in danger. If that happened her Mother could be used against them if their next enemy ever found out.

"There was a battle," Ami finally said. "The Sailor Senshi were fighting this bird woman, and we couldn't get out of the way in time when she attacked us. The Sailor Senshi saved us, but the attack... I know it sounds crazy, but it sent us to a different place. Another dimension I think. We have spent all this time trying to get back."

It was a simple half truth, but one that would satisfy, and one that they had all agreed on back in Seiji. The less they had to make up the better, and hopefully people wouldn't ask too many questions.

"I never wanted to make you think those things," she finished, giving her mother the crumpled note and feeling herself tear up again as she began to cry out the last of her pent up energy. "I love you Mother."

Katsura smiled and drew her in again for another, more comforting hug. "I know Ami. I love you too. I'm glad you're home. And when you want to talk, I'll listen this time. I promise."

---

Naturally, it was only a matter of time before Usagi well and truly ambushed her wayward friends. Not only had they caused her so much grief for disappearing like that, but they had the cheek to come back with stories of a great fantasy adventure that she had missed out on. It was enough to infuriate her!

Or rather, it would have been if she had not been so giddy at the thought of finally seeing them all again. She giggled to herself, and it was only the fact that her arm was wrapped around her fiance's that stopped her from breaking into a run. She had actually been getting used to the idea that her best friends were gone, and then Makoto had phoned her out of the blue. And in the middle of the night too! She had almost fainted from the shock! Well, it might have been tiredness, but she was pretty sure it was shock.

Of course, she hadn't been able to sleep a wink from then on, as the bags under Mamoru's eyes could testify to. Still, he was as glad as Usagi that their companions had somehow managed to return. It was worth it just to have Usagi so excited once again, but that wasn't the only reason. His was a different peer group altogether, but they were good girls and he liked their company a great deal.

So it was that he was the first to start running to the Crown fruit parlour, and Usagi let her meagre self restraint go to the wind, laughing giddily all the way. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt like that. At least not since Mamoru had finally proposed properly to her, and her father had, reluctantly, allowed her to move in with him.

The Tsukino patriarch had been hoping that actually living together would show them both just how hard it would be for a couple like them, but both Mamoru and Usagi had adapted to it with gusto, even if it was not always easy. With the promise of wedding bells some time in the near future and having her closest friends returned to her... As soon as it had all sunk in Usagi had found herself firmly seated on cloud nine, and Mamoru was happy to be carried along for the ride.

With the pair of them laughing as they ran arm in arm down the street, Usagi's blonde dumpling-tails streaming out behind her, they were not a hard target for the others to spot as they loitered outside the Crown, their old meeting place. In fact, as they all waved and shouted their greetings the four of them began to worry that Usagi would end up running them all down like a blue eyed bowling ball. Thankfully for them Usagi had already run out of puff by the time she got to them, the practice she still got from running to college obviously not having helped her stamina.

"Usagi-chan," they all said as Usagi, sucked in almighty breath.

"Everyone!" And, being Usagi, that moment couldn't last without her throwing herself at them and bawling her eyes out! They were just simple, happy tears and not the childish fountains of her junior high years, but Rei rolled her eyes all the same as her friend cried into her clothing.

"For goodness sake Usagi-chan!" Rei exclaimed, even as she returned the embrace. "You're making a scene."

"Meanie," Usagi retorted, before letting her go. "I don't care. I missed you."

Rei nodded and let go as Usagi went to mob the others. "We missed you too dumpling-head."

As Usagi and Minako crushed each other, looking for all the world like long lost twins as they rejoiced in synch, Mamoru and Ami smiled at each other before sharing a hug of their own.

"I'm glad you made it back okay," he said with a smile.

Ami nodded as they broke apart, feeling very glad to be home. "Thank you for taking care of her, Mamoru-kun."

Makoto followed Ami's lead and wrapped her arms around him. "Heh heh, yeah, I bet she put you through hell because of this."

Mamoru just shrugged, happy not to think about it now. "Something like that."

Once no-one had been left out Usagi took both Mamoru and Minako's hands and dragged them up the short flight of stairs and into the Crown's fruit parlour. "Now you have to tell me everything! What was the food like there? Did they have any cute boys?"

Behind them Rei, Ami and Makoto laughed as Mamoru sighed. "I'm right here Usagi. And I have to get to work soon."

"Aww," Usagi pouted as she pushed him into the booth, "Just one drink? Don't you want to hear everything?"

Mamoru sighed. "Of course I'm interested, but I have work, and if you're going to be serious then Luna and Artemis should hear this too, shouldn't they?"

In return Usagi grinned and put her bag on the table. "Hee hee, I thought of that." Then, as she flipped open the top, two rather seasick looking felines poked their heads out, very glad for the fresh air.

"I thought I was going to die..." Artemis whispered while Luna just tried very hard to compose herself.

"Luna!" "Artemis!"

"I'm glad you're all safe," Luna whispered to them, making very sure that no-one noticed the fact that two cats in a handbag had just been deposited on a restaurant table.

"Meow!" Artemis agreed, already into his housecat act, borne of long experience of being draped over Minako's shoulder in public.

"I missed you Artemis!" Minako beamed, eagerly petting him. "And Daddy tells me you moved in with Luna while I was away, how naughty!"

The pair of them flushed brightly, which was quite a feat under all their fur. "Wha..!!" Luna exclaimed, before she remembered where she was and settled for giving Minako an indignant 'It wasn't like that!' look.

"So come on, come on," Usagi wheedled. "I want to hear everything!"

Of course, she had not let Makoto off lightly the night before and already had some idea of what had happened to them all. Still, hearing it from them all properly, even if it was the 'cover version' as Makoto had called it, would be far better than a midnight phone call.

"Everything, hmm?" Minako grinned, giving the two girls on her right a crafty, slanted look. "Everything like... a little love affair?"

Usagi's jaw dropped, and Makoto could have sworn that the girl's eyes were bulging a little more than was healthy. "Umm, I was hoping to be a bit more tactful that than Mina-chan..."

"You're kidding!" Usagi cried, feigning a sniff. "And I wasn't there to sneak out all the juicy information?"

Minako nodded in sympathy that was far too theatrical to be in the least bit honest. "That's what I said. Mmm-hmm."

"But you where there!" Usagi sighed before the energy returned to her eyes. Eyes which latched firmly onto Makoto. "So come on, who is he?" Then she actually thought about it for a moment. "Or... who was he? Did you have to break up when you came home? Oh Mako-chan, to have such a tragic relationship!"

"Oi, oi," Rei said, her un-amused gaze just as deadpan as her voice. "I'm right here you know."

That stopped Usagi's wistful theatrics dead, and her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Makoto sighed, practically able to see the question marks pop into existence over Usagi's head. "Rei, I didn't actually tell her about that last night."

"Oh?" She was surprised that it hadn't been one of the first things Makoto would have told Usagi. Then again, Makoto had been somewhat reluctant to tell the others back in Seiji as well. She just shrugged and smiled happily, leaning into Makoto's arm. "Well, there you have it."

"Well," Mamoru said, rather bemused as Makoto blushed quietly to herself, "that's a turn up for the books. You never said you were... both ways inclined Rei-chan."

"Woooow," Usagi boggled. "All that time with Haruka-san; her cool style must be catching!"

"Oh don't be so stupid!" Rei replied, nipping that idea in the bud. "I just never thought about it before."

'Not much anyway,' she added to herself. But, while Usagi might have missed it, her silly observation had caused Ami's smile to slip slightly as she looked at her menu.

"Anyway," Rei added, smartly changing the subject, "it was hard for me in that place, and Makoto was very good to me."

"So casually..." Usagi said, noticing the way Rei said her name. "You're not kidding, are you?"

The two of the just shook their heads, and Rei leaned up to give Makoto a quick peck, just to prove it.

Usagi grinned at the way Makoto blushed. It was just too sweet. "So how did she tell you?" Usagi asked, eager for the gossip. "What was your first date like?"

"Actually," Rei said, jumping the gun before Makoto could answer. She had to set the story straight after all. "It was Mako who told me."

"Wha- really? What part of her is like your sempai then?" Usagi asked, not altogether joking. That had always been a driving force in Makoto's crushes after all.

For her part Makoto chuckled and gave a shrug. "I'm still trying to work that out! It just sort of happened." Her voice softened as she admitted it. "It scared me actually. I mean, it's not exactly normal."

"But it still happened," Ami spoke up, defending Makoto from herself. "And you still told her, so it all worked out for the best, right?"

Makoto sighed, a smile firmly fixed on her face as she took Rei's hand in her own beneath the table. "Yeah. It did. Definitely for the best."

"And the date?" Usagi pushed.

Both Makoto and Rei opened their mouths, but blinked as they didn't actually find the answer. "You know," Makoto finally said, "I don't think we've actually had a proper date yet."

Rei nodded. "Well, that day at the tower didn't really count I guess, thanks to Desir."

Usagi looked both riveted and confused in equal measure. Which was to say: a great deal of both. "Desir? What's that? You haven't even dated yet? How does that work?"

Makoto smiled sheepishly. "Well, it was all rather complicated, and like I said, it was kind of weird for both of us."

Rei nodded with a mock-serious air. "Uh-huh. She decided she was suddenly in love with someone she'd known for years, and I was trying hard not to got nuts at the same time as I was realising I liked it."

"Oh, and we were overthrowing a kingdom at the same time, don't forget that," Minako added.

Ami nodded. "And we were learning how to use dangerous magic. And trying not to get caught by soldiers all the time."

"Getting arrested..." Makoto added to the list, her eyes drifting upward as she tried to pull together all the relevant bullet points. "becoming outlaws..."

Mamoru had to laugh. "And I thought -our- courtship was awkward!" he said, giving Usagi an amused look. "Having to deal with your father doesn't seem quite so bad after hearing about that."

Usagi swatted at his arm playfully. "Don't be mean. He'll come around eventually."

"Exactly," Minako said with her trademark enthusiasm. "He let you get engaged after all. That's half the wedding won!"

Then, spotting the waitress as she emerged from the kitchens, this time not loaded down with orders, Usagi gave her a call. "Unazuki-san! Over here!"

"Ah, everyone, you're back!" Unazuki said as she got to them. In the years since they had first started coming to the Crown Unazuki had grown into a good looking young lady who filled out her uniform very well. As such it was no wonder that she still worked there; she got great tips. No doubt she and her brother would properly take over the business from their parents soon. "I saw it on the news. I thought I'd lost my good customers! What happened to you all?"

"That's a long story," Ami replied with a tired smile, wondering just how many times the five of them were going to have to tell it.

Thankfully though their long time supplier of ice cream parfaits was all too willing to settle for that and gave them all a smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure the newspapers will keep me up to date when they catch you! So, just this one time I'll give you my 'long time customer welcome back special discount'!"

"Which you just made up," Rei said with a grin.

"Of course," Unazuki replied with a wink. "Even before you left you haven't been coming as often as you used to. I need to keep Usagi-chan here!"

Mamoru feigned a grieving look, making sure that Usagi noticed. "Alas, poor wallet, I knew him well."

The effect was somewhat lost on his betrothed since he actually quoted the line in English, but she got the gist of it from the way Rei, Ami and Minako laughed. For her part Makoto, whose English was even worse than Usagi's these days, just leaned across the table to commiserate with her. At least she could stand up for her friend in such times of strife.

"Usagi-chan, be strong. Such foreign words can only be met with ice cream retaliation."

"Yes," Usagi nodded, taking Makoto's hand as if she was a long surviving war-buddy. "Just for that, I have no choice." She smiled up at Unazuki. "One double fudge parfait with extra cherries please. Two spoons."

Mamoru really did give a sigh for his wallet this time. That particular confection was in the Crown's top bracket of ice creams. "Um, Furuhata-san, how much is that discount?"

Unazuki grinned and chose to play along with Usagi, her eyes wandering up as she mused on the question. "Hmm, how much indeed. It can't be too much, and yet Usagi-chan is such a good customer..." Then she giggled and let the man off the hook. "For you, twenty five percent. Just don't tell anyone. I have an image to keep up."

It was only as Unazuki headed back to the kitchen that Makoto realised Usagi was still holding her hand across the table. "Usagi-chan? I'm going to need that back some day, you know?" Then she saw the tears that were once again forming in her friend's eyes. "Usagi-chan..."

"I've missed you guys," Usagi sniffed, burying her head against Makoto's hand. "You were gone for so long, I didn't think you were ever coming back."

The rest of them could hardly stay dry eyed at that either. It had been such a long time since they could just play around together. "There there, Usagi-chan, it's the same for us too," Makoto soothed as her hand was held, and beside her Rei huffed with false annoyance as she tried to force back those infectious, burgeoning tears.

"Stop it already, dumpling-head. People are staring at us."

Not that any of them actually cared. Having their own little group back together again was all that mattered. Mamoru had only just managed to get her presentable again by the time their orders came, but Unazuki was still worried enough to ask what was wrong.

"Nothing," Usagi replied with a huge, damp-cheeked smile, and she stuck a spoonful of her sickly sweet ice cream in her mouth. "It's good!"

"It's always good!" Unazuki smiled back before leaving them to it.

As they started in on their sweets Mamoru cast an eye over Ami as she nursed her simple drink. She was usually the quietest of them unless it came to their studies, but she had still been uncharacteristically withdrawn while the others had gushed over each other.

"Are you alright Ami-chan? You seem..." He found himself searching for the appropriate word, but one that wouldn't put her on the spot. She was, after all, easily embarrassed, but whatever it was had obviously played on her mind. "You seem tired."

Ami looked over in surprise before giving him a grateful smile. "Thank you Mamoru-kun. I'm okay. It is just... dimensional jet-lag. I didn't sleep very well when I got back."

"Oh?" said Makoto suddenly concerned. She was suffering from the same thing after her late night call with Usagi, but she didn't really feel that bad from it. At least not yet. "What's wrong?" she asked, before realising that one of the possible answers wasn't something that they should talk about. "Is... your Mother okay? You could go home, couldn't you?"

Ami nodded, thankful for all the concern they were showing. "Yes, it was all fine. But she came home very late, and we cried a lot. I really made a lot of trouble for her."

Minako nodded in sympathy. "Same here. Mama was furious that I'd been gone for so long. It was a good thing that I called to tell her beforehand, and she had cooled off by the time I actually got home. Mostly anyway. Daddy may be useless, but he can talk to her when she's like that."

"And it's not like you did it on purpose," Makoto added. "Mizuno-sensei would understand."

And it was true. Her mother had been very understanding. "Yes. It was silly, but we both just needed to have a proper cry! What about you Mako-chan? Was your apartment okay?"

Rei looked up at her girlfriend, feeling slightly guilty that the question had not already come from her. She hadn't even considered that Makoto might have had a problem with that.

"Yeah, it was all okay," Makoto replied. "I still have to dust like crazy, but they haven't cut off my utilities or anything. I also checked with the noodle shop, and Matsubashi-san is willing to take me back as well. He was so convinced I'd come back he didn't even get a replacement for me! It was amazing!"

"That's great Mako-chan," Usagi exclaimed. "What about school? They'll let you go back, right?"

That one caused her to stumble a little. "Uhh, I haven't actually checked with them yet. I was... going to do that this afternoon. I haven't had time, because I slept kinda late!"

"I'm sure you will be fine Mako-chan," Rei assured her, but inside she was determined to find out just why Makoto had been caught short by that. It had been impossible to miss. Makoto was second only to Ami in being unable to lie convincingly, and it was a close second at that. "Mind you, I bet Ami-chan already has a list of all the things she had to cram. There isn't much time left!"

All eyes fell on Ami then as the girl turned bright red. "Th-that isn't true Rei-chan. I just... don't want to be..."

It was futile, and she knew it. "Yes. I did," she said, trying to make herself as small as possible before she combusted under their gaze.

"Timetables and everything?" Minako added with a cheeky grin.

Ami gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"Hee hee, it's okay Ami-chan," Usagi said, patting her on the shoulder. "At least you won't have to do re-takes or anything."

"Which reminds me," Mamoru interrupted, filling Usagi with fear, "if you have time Ami-chan, could you organise a few cram session with Usagi?"

"I didn't skip that many classes," Usagi said, suddenly feeling blue. "I was grieving."

"But we still want you to pass your exams too," Mamoru said, stroking her cheek affectionately. "And now everyone's back. You crammed amazingly well to get into college, it would be a shame to break that winning streak now."

Ami nodded in agreement. "I'll see what I can do Mamoru-kun, Usagi-chan."

"You'll be there too right Rei-chan? Mako-chan?" Usagi all but pleaded, her ice cream spoon in her mouth. "Just like old times, all cramming together?"

Again Makoto shifted uncomfortably at the mention of it, but Rei nodded. "Sure. I don't know how much I've missed, but with my luck it'll be too much!"

It was then that Makoto, glancing out of the window, realised just how much attention their rather conspicuous reunion had gathered. "Umm, guys, you know we always have a window booth? That might not be such a good idea next time."

The others all followed her gaze to see that, as Makoto had said, they had actually gathered a small crowd. Not only that, there was a man who looked suspiciously like a reporter making his way towards them with 'front page news' practically written across his forehead.

"Uh oh," Rei said, "maybe we aught to go."

"How can all these people care about us having ice cream?" Makoto asked.

"Your disappearance did make the national news," Mamoru replied seriously. "Sailor Senshi related casualties do that."

Even though they were attracting the least number of stares Usagi was quick to hide the cats under the table. "Sorry Luna. Aww, this isn't fair, I haven't finished my parfait."

Minako on the other hand had a gleam in her eyes. "Wait. Don't you get it? This is a big scoop. A -big- scoop! Leave it to me."

When the reporter got into the restaurant he barely had the chance to introduce himself and ask whether they were the missing girls before Minako got to work.

"Yes, that's us. And I bet you're just dying to hear about that, first reporter on the scene and all."

The man just smiled broadly. "If you would be so kind."

"Well," Minako beamed back, "I'm afraid you'll have to talk to my agent. We have to do this properly after all."

The reporter looked at her, lost for words, before his smile returned, if a little brokenly. "Could you at least say whether the missing Sailor Senshi have returned as well? Did they rescue you?"

Minako gave him a cunning grin. "That's why we have to do this properly, wouldn't you agree?"

The reporter sighed and nodded. She knew what she was doing, and she had no doubt advised her friends to stay quiet as well. "Very well Aino-san. I will let you choose the time, place, and terms, and my magazine won't hassle your friends either. In return, just remember my name," he said, passing her his card. If the direct approach didn't work, maybe good will would get him his exclusive. Simply being able to report their return would be news enough for now.

Minako tucked the card into her purse without even looking at it and gave him a wave as he left. "How good of you. Take care now."

Mamoru watched him go, more than a little wary about what his appearance signified. "It looks like you are going to attract a fair bit of attention, for now at least."

"Don't worry about it," Minako dismissed, getting out her phone. "Just don't talk to them and leave everything to me. We might even get some nice spending money out of this."

While the others weren't nearly has happy with the idea of talking to the press - they never had done in the past, no matter how much those people wanted to talk to the Sailor Senshi - they all liked the idea of getting a little something for their troubles, though for very different reasons.

"Mikiyo-san, it's Minako... Aww, I didn't know you cared about the smallest name on your list. Yes, I'm okay, I got back last night... I know, I should have called you, but it was gone midnight! ... Yes, that's the reason I'm calling, can you handle something for us?"

---

It had taken a little time, but the six of them had finally made their escape, leaving just their parfait glasses and a small crowd of inquisitive passers by in their wake. They should have expected it really, but the attention had felt very strange, even for Minako. It wasn't even like they had done anything worthy of the attention this time, at least not in Japan. Ami had likened it to being a goldfish in a bowl.

Mamoru finally said his farewells as he headed off to work, probably having to apologise for being so late when he got there, but Usagi wasn't about to let her friends off so easily. She had spent the morning making something for them, and wanted to play hostess and talk until they lost their voices.

It was a surprise when Rei begged off but, after much cajoling, she had been clear. There was time for fun later. She still had things to sort out, and living at the shrine meant that she started work as soon as she was ready.

It was the perfect excuse for Makoto. "Maybe I should go with you, I guess I've still got too much to do too. And someone needs to make sure you don't work too hard."

Usagi and Minako had wanted to argue, but they both caught a sly gleam in their eyes. That was a much better idea. Rei and Makoto, making excuses to leave together? Though the blonde pair made a drama out of it they finally acquiesced, and let the two of them go with a wink while they and Ami, smiling diplomatically, headed for Usagi and Mamoru's flat.

Rei sighed as she and Makoto walked in the opposite direction. "Thanks for the help," Rei said, giving Makoto a knowing look as they made for Rei's college, "but you know they're going to be thinking all sorts of things now."

Makoto smiled guiltily, "Well, Ami-chan can keep them under control. I just didn't get a chance to talk to you before. How did it go, with Grandpa and everything?"

Rei realised what Makoto meant, and smiled to herself. Makoto had been worrying about that? That fuzzy feeling in her chest returned and she took Makoto's hand as they walked, suddenly far less concerned about how it would look. "He didn't say much of anything really. I don't even know if he understood any of it, but he said as long as I had done my best, then that was good enough. I could tell he hated the idea of me..."

Her hold on Makoto's hand tightened a little, "... doing what I did to those soldiers, but he didn't say anything." She found herself smiling through the painful and guilt-laced memories. "It's weird. He's always so stupid and irresponsible, but he's really great when it matters. If he hadn't been like that I don't know what I'd have done."

"You'd have come to me, I hope," Makoto said, looking hopeful as she sounded.

Rei didn't understand why her feelings had grown for Makoto, but that look was part of it. That hopeful look was both confident and vulnerable at the same time, and didn't fail to bring a smile to her face. "Hee hee, maybe I would."

Makoto nodded, glad that Rei was in higher spirits.

"So, what do you have to do? I hope you don't want me to help dust that apartment of yours," Rei said with a wink. Then an idea struck her. One that would answer two questions in one go. "Actually, why don't we go to your college first? It's not that far from here is it? We can catch the bus to mine later."

"Actually," Makoto replied, sounding nervous, "I was thinking, maybe we could have a proper date. One that doesn't involve demons. Something... normal."

"Makoto... I think I'd like that," Rei said, caught a little off guard and feeling the sudden urge to hug her. Up until now Rei had been the one to instigate things between them, aside from Makoto's original confession. In fact, Makoto had been down right cautious about making any moves.

However, while the idea made her heart skip a beat, it hadn't escaped her notice that Makoto had avoided her question, and the sudden awkwardness she felt in the way Makoto held her hand wasn't just from asking if Rei wanted to go out with her.

"But you know," Rei added, not wanting to scare her girlfriend off with her questions, "I really do have things to sort out, otherwise I would have gone with Usagi-chan. I don't mind taking a detour with you though. It's better to get school out of the way first, right?"

She gave Makoto's hand a comforting squeeze. "And a girl needs time to get ready for a date after all!"

Makoto did smile at that, but it was only a wan tweak of the lips. "I'm a girl too you know."

Rei realised her blunder too late. "No, Mako, I didn't mean it like that. Never mind me, I'm just saying stupid things. Come on, let's get you sorted out for college and we can talk properly..."

"Rei don't," Makoto interrupted, not moving an inch as Rei had started to walk on. Makoto let go of her hand, and Rei found herself worrying about what was wrong. Makoto so rarely let things get to her like this.

"What is it? You avoided Usagi-chan's question at the Crown too. What's wrong?"

Makoto just stood there, feeling awkward and unsightly as she stared at the ground. "I already went. I didn't sleep late. I haven't been to bed yet. Usagi-chan and me talked so late I thought it would be better if I just stayed up and got used to Japan time again."

"So... what happened?" Rei asked, reaching out to take Makoto's hand again and stroking it with her thumb as she held it.

Makoto smiled at the gesture, but it didn't stop her feeling like dirt, especially for lying to her friends, and to the beautiful young woman who was trying to help her. "Before we ended up in Seiji I was going to try and meet up with Ami again, so she could tutor me. I was in big trouble Rei, I'm just no good as a student. I figured that if Ami could help me like she used to, I'd be okay.

"Then we all ended up in Seiji, and I've missed two months. I can't catch up now. Not in three weeks. My tutors say it's best if I re-take the year."

"Oh Makoto," Rei said, wishing Makoto had told them. Of course it was obvious why she hadn't. Makoto had always been proud of living alone, of being able to get on without her parents, and only minimal support from the authorities. "It's not that bad. You'll have a head start next year. You'll be able to ace it then even without Ami's..."

Makoto didn't let her finish, and she scrunched her eyes shut as she finally admitted the worst of it. "I can't afford it!"

Hearing Rei gasp was painful, it made her feel ashamed that she had let this happen, but Rei deserved to hear it. Makoto wouldn't allow herself to be comforted until Rei saw how much of a fool the real Makoto had been underneath her bravado. "I don't have enough money to re-take the year. I can only pay all the bills I've got because Matsubashi-san is going to let this go as my paid holiday for the year."

"But what about your final year? You couldn't pay for it?" Rei asked, aghast.

Makoto found a hiccough in her throat. "My savings were going to pay for it, but I can't make enough money to take an extra year and still pay for everything else. It's because I had to work that I couldn't study enough. Matsubashi-san even let me take my books when we had a slow day, and it still wasn't enough."

"Makoto," Rei whispered, before taking Makoto into her arms and holding her closely. "Pay for it. We'll find a way to deal with the extra fees. Ami-chan's mother is rich, and so are Haruka-san and Michiru-san, maybe if we ask them..."

Makoto shook her head. "I can't do that. It's not their problem. It's better to live with your mistakes, right? I shouldn't have bought such a big wardrobe, especially since nothing ever fits me anyway."

It wasn't as if Makoto could avoid noticing the looks they were drawing. To see someone like her being held and reassured by a girl a full head smaller...

"Be quiet!" Rei admonished. "So what if you have good fashion sense? You deserve better than this Mako. You were so excited about getting into that school, I won't let you throw it away just because you're too proud to ask for help. We're your friends, we're supposed to be there for each other. I don't want you to feel like this!"

And Rei kissed her. Neither of them could avoid noticing the looks -that- drew, but she didn't care. She would suffer them for Makoto's sake, and when Makoto pulled away, she let her. Makoto, who could be so worried about what people thought and so worried about being in love with her, despite being such a strong person.

"Come on, school can wait until this afternoon," Rei said, confidently taking Makoto's hand again and trying to dispel the girl's worries. "Let's clean out that apartment of yours!"

And to her relief it actually seemed to work. Though she could have done with a moment to clean herself up again, Makoto's grip on her hand had regained that gentle, protective feeling that Rei was coming to know as Makoto's alone.

---

A single beam of sunlight shone in through the crack in the curtains, casting its brilliant yellow presence across the pale celadon bed sheets. After hours slowly creeping across the room its bright edges finally alighted on Haruka's covered toe, and the tall young woman looked back over herself as the warmth slowly filtered through the light cloth.

"Michiru, look, we have company."

Beneath her lover, Michiru's eyes didn't even quiver as she stared up at Haruka's face. "Let it be." She grew a small, prankish smile. "If you have enough energy to joke then you can find me something to eat."

Haruka had always been quick with her witty comebacks, as they both had to be around each other, but to her surprise Haruka just looked down at her. Her sandy hair had grown too long and it delicately brushed Michiru's cheeks as Haruka let gravity press their bodies together once again.

"Let us starve."

She had been lost in the whirlwind of their passionate reunion at first, but now with the day moving on Michiru had noticed how much more intense Haruka had been. Their kiss lingered as their lips brushed at each other. Intense, but very delicate, she had realised.

Not that she minded in the least. She had craved it for so long that Haruka's touch, no matter how it came, was forever welcome. Michiru had been strong, she had soldiered on, but not a night had gone by without her wishing that somehow, someday, Haruka would be returned to her. The girl she had crushed on from afar, and had personally awakened into the ranks of the Sailor Senshi. A girl who knew what it was like to come from a family of money, and yet feel as though she had no family at all. The girl that had taken so long to open up to her.

But it had all paid off. Their first night together had been magical, as had every night since. They had a strange relationship, Michiru was all too aware of that, but she didn't care. They had grown up too fast, and no-one else would ever understand their unique dynamic: they had not been the victims of school relationship fashions nor had the support of the media to know how to go about courting each other.

They had discovered it for themselves.

Then, having lost her love, Michiru had retreated away from the public eye that had come to admire her unique style and attitude. She had played her music, and she had painted, but not for them. She had needed the catharsis. She had been forced to face the cameras and reporters with a brave face, and had to be the support for Hotaru as she cried for the loss of her 'father'. Michiru knew Setsuna had tried to be there for her, but Setsuna herself was a unique and unusual person, and there had only been so many words from her that could actually give comfort.

Thank God, then, for their princess. Usagi had been as much a support to her as she herself had been to the distraught girl, Michiru guessed. For all the self assured attitude that she and Haruka seemed to have, they were only human, and still young. Michiru had fallen apart more than once in Usagi's caring arms, and she had probably made just as much of a scene as Usagi had when they had grieved together. At least Usagi had been able to look somewhat adorable when she was distressed. Michiru knew the same could never be said about her. Red eyed, with her hair messed and her makeup streaming down her cheeks, hers was not a face that could afford her the luxury of crying real tears.

Michiru let out a small moan as Haruka's arms slipped beneath her, holding her so protectively. Their bodies locked together in an almost perfect symmetry. If only she were taller, or Haruka shorter, it would not have been an 'almost'. She could not wait to stroll out in public again, her arm in Haruka's for everyone to see.

But wait she would, as Haruka's legs entwined themselves more closely with hers. This was time for themselves alone. "Incorrigible," she whispered with that smile of hers as she wrapped her arms around Haruka's body.

"If you have the energy to joke," Haruka replied, her face hidden in Michiru's hair, "then make love to me!"

Had she been able to see Haruka's expression, Michiru would have paused at how serious she seemed. However, she didn't get a chance to fulfil that wish as the bedroom was suddenly slammed open and in dashed their teenaged adopted daughter, her face glowing brilliantly at the promise of seeing her 'father' again.

"Haruka-papa!"

Or at least, it was until she saw just what she had barged in on. "Whaa..!" the young, bob-haired girl exclaimed, before her face lit up red and she spun around, clutching her schoolbag to her chest.

"Michiru-mama! Haruka-papa! It's the middle of the afternoon!" she all but yelled before retreating back out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Then, through the wood, Haruka and Michiru heard her small, sobbing voice. "Haruka-papa, I missed you!"

A moment later Haruka opened the door, wearing only a simple dressing gown. Hotaru looked up to her from her place crouched by the door, and Haruka offered a hand to her daughter. "I'm missed you too Hotaru-chan. You don't know how much I missed you."

Hotaru nodded, taking her hand and finding herself in a warm, comforting hug as she cried her happy eyes out. "Haruka-papa!"

---

Minako looked over the plate of biscuits that Usagi set before her, and she couldn't help but fawn over the girlish designs. "How cute!"

Usagi nodded, coloured with faint embarrassment at the praise. "Aren't they?"

Ami took one of the small, bunny shaped cookies, as if studying it. "It almost seems a shame to eat them."

Usagi didn't have that problem, and popped one into her mouth. "What else are biscuits for?" However, after a few chews her happy little grin faded. "They're still not sweet enough."

Minako blinked at her, a pair of the baked rabbit ears sticking out from her lips. "Really?" She took a few more chews of her own. "I think they're okay."

Ami nodded in agreement. She could tell what Usagi meant, they were a little plain compared to Makoto's treats, but then none of them could have matched Makoto for cooking skills, least of all herself. "Don't be hard on yourself Usagi-chan. You have improved a lot since moving in here."

Usagi sighed and sat back on her pillow, munching thoughtfully. "I suppose so. I've got a long way to go though. Being a wife is really hard, and I'm not even married yet."

"Usagi-chan," Ami scolded affectionately, "there is more to being Mamoru-kun's wife than cooking for him."

"But I still want to," Usagi replied, remembering her old daydreams. "I know I can't be the perfect wife, but I still want to try. I don't want to be a useless woman who can't do anything."

Minako found it hard to get her head around that, for one simple reason. "Being Sailor Moon is useless now?"

Curled up beside the table Luna agreed. "You might still have a lot to learn about homemaking Usagi, but you do have other things to worry about that normal girls don't."

Usagi smiled at the complement and rewarded Luna with a biscuit for her trouble. "Thanks Luna."

Sitting beside Minako Artemis eyed the free goody enviously. "Hey, why does Luna get the cookie?"

"Because she can be supportive of a girl's efforts," Minako replied, as if quoting from some great book of common familial lore.

"Well I can tell her how good they are once I've tried one," Artemis replied, a little sour, but Usagi just smiled at him and passed another bunny biscuit over to his side of the table.

"No-one gets left out in my house," she said proudly as Artemis nodded in thanks and started to chow down.

In moments the confection was gone, and he smacked his lips thoughtfully. "Well, it was a little bland, but far better than anything Minako's ever made!"

Sitting politely next to him Minako didn't say a word as she knocked her knuckles over the back of her cat's head.

"Hey, I was complimenting the biscuit!" Artemis defended weakly, while Minako glared at him.

"You didn't have to insult me at the same time," she growled.

"Now now," Ami said, trying to mollify them and failing to see how they could slip back into old habits so easily. "Let's not start that when we've only just arrived."

For her own part Usagi just giggled. "Well -I- appreciate it Artemis. I'll make sure Mum gives you a proper supper tonight, not just the tinned stuff." Then she realised that it wasn't really her place to be offering such favours any more. "Oh, but I guess you'll be moving back in with Minako, won't you?"

Artemis just put his nose up in the air. "Not if she treats me like that I won't," he sniffed comically.

Minako just mirrored his gesture. "Well I'm sure Mama will be happy not to have to feed you again."

Ami shook her head. Sometimes her friends worried her. "You two..."

"Well," Usagi sighed, looking at the clock, "I'd better go, or I'll be late for Michiru's lesson again. Thanks for coming guys. It's really nice to have you back."

"Huh?" Minako blinked in surprise. "We're going? Since when have you had lessons besides college?"

"Michiru-san has been teaching you?" Ami asked. The very idea of Usagi asking for tutelage impressed her. She knew from long experience just what lengths the girl would go to in order to avoid studying anything.

"Well, I guess it was just an excuse to give us something to do," Usagi explained. "At least at first. If I want to be a proper lady, who better to teach me than Michiru-san?"

Ami beamed at her, feeling very proud of her friend. "I'm glad you have taken such good initiative Usagi-chan. I'm sure Michiru-san has been very grateful for your company."

Usagi just grinned sheepishly. "And vice versa. Hotaru-chan has been really kind as well. Umm, you can come along if you want. I'm sure she'd love to see you all too. And you can help me stand up for my cookies. Michiru-san is going to grade them for me."

"Great!" Minako beamed, "Unlike some people, I have nothing to do until my agent gets back to me!"

"Well, you go and have fun then," Luna said, as she got up and stretched. "I think I will take a nap before I have to head back home. I don't want to tempt providence with the 'no-pets' rule in this building for longer than I have to."

Artemis laughed. "Especially after last time. That last pound you ended up in was a sty!"

However, as the two girls got to their feet Ami found herself hesitating. "Actually Usagi-chan, I might not. I should probably start studying for my exams as soon as possible, especially after..."

Minako cut her off mid flow. "Ami-chan." It was said with an understanding smile, but Minako wasn't going have that nonsense. "You've got time just to visit friends, right?"

Ami stood silent for a second before she smiled in reply. She had already told herself that she had avoided Haruka's company for too long, and for all the wrong reasons. And, after all, even if they had been careful around each other after the battle with Galaxia, she and Michiru had become friends more quickly than some of the others had.

"Yes, you're right."

Then, as they all made for the hallway, Artemis called after them. "Hey. You know what, I'll come along. Someone's got to keep you lot out of trouble when Luna's not around."

Minako turned to him and stuck out her tongue, before smiling at him. She wanted him there just as much as he wanted her around again. "That's the first sensible thing you've said all day! Come on," she said, flicking her hair over her should so that he could leap up and drape himself over his favourite perch. "Better."

---

Michiru had wondered whether Usagi was going to make it to their normal lesson. With everything that must have been going on she couldn't have faulted her for missing it. Likewise she had idly wondered whether she would even have been allowed out of bed in time if Hotaru hadn't intervened.

But the doorbell had rung, and there on her doorstep were the three young women. "You came after all," she said, smiling beautifully at them. "I would have let you off, you know. Still, I'm glad. Ami-san, Minako-san, it has been a while."

Both of them nodded, accepting the formal but friendly hugs Michiru gave them. Both of them had forgotten just how elegant the young musician was, and in Minako's eyes, how well she filled the role of superstar that she herself one day aspired to take on. "Michiru-san, stylish as ever."

Michiru bowed appreciatively. She was actually surprised at how openly friendly they both seemed to be. Before they had disappeared things had still been awkward between them, although they had all been making the effort to put the past behind them. It was quite a relief to see that their time away, however painful it must have been for them, seemed to have helped lay some of those demons to rest. Just as Usagi had helped her to do. Of all of the 'inners' it was Usagi's open acceptance that had most caused Michiru's guilt to well up, and she was thankful that she had now managed to put those feeling behind her. "Thank you. You are all looking well. I do like what you have done with your hair Minako-san. It flatters you."

Minako blushed at the compliment, glad that she had chosen to keep her netting hair veil. "Hee hee, if you like it then I know I'm onto a good thing!"

Then, from behind her girlfriend, Haruka made her presence known. "If it isn't my favourite girls."

Usagi didn't even hesitate in leaping over to her, almost tackling her in a cuddle. "Haruka-san, we missed you!"

"We missed you too dumpling," Haruka said, laying an affectionate hand on Usagi's head. "You wouldn't believe how much."

Usagi shook her head and looked up to the taller girl, her eyes moist. "No, I would."

Haruka smiled and nodded before turning to the empty hall. "Hotaru, we have guests!"

Then, as they waited for the raven haired teenager to appear, Haruka gave Minako a hug of her own. "Your folks forgave you?"

Minako nodded, and gave her a knowing wink. "Eventually."

After Minako let go Haruka turned to Ami, but the pair just smiled at each other. Usagi felt a curiosity fall over her at the strange, silent exchange between them, but beside her Michiru smiled an odd sort of smile as they finally gave each other a brief but obviously tender hug.

"It's good to be home, isn't it Haruka-san?"

"Yeah. It is."

When Hotaru appeared the routine was repeated once again, and the younger girl leaped on the chance to ask about their 'adventure'. "Haruka-papa hasn't told me anything!" she groused, pouting with a quietly petulant air. One that might have been seen if you crossed Rei's brash wisdom with Ami's bookish and socially reserved intelligence.

And, as Minako tried to fill her in, Michiru managed to manoeuvre herself next to Ami, still standing by the closed door. After what she had just seen it was clear that it was not just the younger girls who had put the past behind them. Haruka had been more worried and withdrawn than any of them when they used to get together, and yet all traces of that guilt ridden and self deprecating aura, at least on the surface, had been wiped away. "Thank you for helping her. She must have been a lot to deal with."

Ami shook her head, a slightly subdued smile of her own on her lips. "No, we have all been very silly, I think. She has been a great help, and a wonderful friend."

Michiru nodded, feeling proud of her girlfriend. Ami's praise was always worth a great deal to whoever received it. "I'm glad. Will you stay? You can help Usagi-san to learn the basics of cakes."

Ami seemed to think for a moment, but it was an invitation she was too polite to refuse, and really, were her studies so important that she would turn down the time with her friends? "I will, thank you. You have obviously been a great help to her."

Michiru just smiled diplomatically and gave a slight nod as she led her chattering daughter into the kitchen. That may have been true, but after everything Usagi had done for her and her family she was not egotistical enough to accept the compliment. Where would her air of mystery be if she did that?

"Now Usagi-san, let's see how your biscuit practice turned out."

From the living room Ami just watched the scene start unfolding and next to her, leaning on the kitchen worktop that separated the two rooms, Haruka watched with her, an amused smile on her face. "Now this I have to see."

Ami nodded, taking a seat. "It should be... interesting," she agreed, knowing just who was in the kitchen trying to 'help'.

"No Minako-san, that's the -plain- flour! Usagi-san, the self raising is the one just to the right."

---

Tyranya blinked, staring up into the night sky, which had been filled with a bleak and un-warming midday sun only moments ago.

She groaned loudly, wondering why she hurt as she lay on the grass of Juuban park. There didn't seem to be a single muscle in her body that didn't ache, and her head throbbed painfully. She must have hit it when she landed.

Across from her she heard Kaizi's desperate voice, and Tyranya viciously shook her head to try and clear it. This was no time for her to worry about pain. She had friends to save. She could already see the edges of the burning dimensional tear beginning to shrink inwards upon themselves as Kaizi pulled frantically at the grass beneath her, screaming at the portal to finally spit her out. Tyranya scrambled back to her and grabbed her arm, her long, sharp nails biting into her friend's flesh as she pulled.

"Come on, let her out!!" Tyranya snarled at the slowly shrinking disk of liquid space.

As if on command both she and her companion found themselves hurtling backwards onto the moonlit grass, and no sooner had Kaizi been ejected then another pair of hands jutted through and into Tokyo's balmy air. Tyranya barely paused to take a breath before grasping at those hands and pulling again, while Kaizi could only look around her in ecstatic wonder. "We did it! We're out!"

"Kaizi, come on!" Tyranya called back to her. "We can get everyone! Help me, we still have time!"

That stern voice brought Kaizi back to the real world. "Yes Captain!" She too took the grasping hands in her own, and her muscular arms bulged as she put all her weight into her efforts. "I've got you Shivis!"

With a shudder the incredible hold the portal had on those feathered hands suddenly let up, and the tall, slim young woman catapulted out of the ephemeral ooze like a cork from a champagne bottle. "Come on!" Tyranya all but screamed as the doorway continued to shrink, now only ten feet wide at best. "Where are you!?"

Then, to her relief, the next pair of hands emerged, and with them the entire upper body of her next companion. Now, as more of them joined their sisters in their struggle for freedom, they barely had to wait for the portal's slack grip to loosen before they could haul their next sister out of their blasted homeland.

And yet, the portal continued to shrink.

"We didn't put enough power into it," Shivis whispered sorrowfully as the flames around the liquid disk began to dissipate. "I'm sorry... I didn't put enough power in to keep it open!"

A large, imposing woman gave her a fang-toothed smile, caught half way through the gate and with only enough space to breath around her muscular waist. She looked back at the rip she was stuck in as the blackness that made up its surface began to leak out into the air. "You did your best Shivis. You found the weakness, and the fact that you could open it for any of us was more than we could have hoped for. But it's alright. Matinatia and Lapis have already gone."

The raven skinned Maxill felt tears come to her eyes as she was told the fate of her twin. "No... They didn't... WHY!!?"

The large woman shook her head, no longer matching Tyranya and Kaizi for power in trying to free herself. "It is better to die than remain behind. We will envy you lucky ones, so live well in our place."

Her smile began to fail her as the oily portal slipped away, it's disappearance creeping up through her stomach more cleanly than any blade could ever have cut. "We love you, sisters."

The survivors wept to see their oldest and proudest sister's body fall to the ground, the portal having severed her in two as it had vanished. The smallest girl, an animalistic and fox-like young thing, crawled to her and lifted the woman's head into her lap. "Kental, don't go..."

But, while hardy, not even their kind could survive such a mortal wound, and Tyranya tried to comfort the girl as their friend's body slowly corroded away, leaving nothing but a mound of heavy, blackish earth to mark her passing.

"Be strong, Aretsuki," Tyranya whispered through her own tears, taking the bawling girl in her arms. "You saw how brave she was. We have to be brave like her. Like a real soldier of the Dark Kingdom should always be."

She looked up through her watery eyes, unafraid to let her weakness show through her tears. Such qualities were not to be ashamed of. "We will be able to live here. We will grow strong and we will make this world our own. It will be payment for the suffering we have endured, and for the lives of every sister that has been taken from us! We must make sure that none ever suffer that fate again!"

She looked up to the faces of those strong souls who had survived with her. "We shall not be snuffed out. Make sure of that, everyone. Nothing is more important than each other's lives. We are all we have left."

---

To Be Continued...

---

Please leave a review with any comments and criticisms you have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.

(c) Nutzoide 2007


	3. The Past has a Presence

Shooting for the Moon: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

---

Shooting for the Moon

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 2: The Past has a Presence...

Japan Welcomes the Senshi Home.

Minako couldn't help but let a small, disappointed sigh escape her lips. After everything that had brought her back to Japan she had been hoping for something a little more exciting now that she was here. Of course, it had been an unrealistic expectation, but still...

She was the only one of her friends who hadn't gone on to college or university, so she was feeling left out now that they were all cramming so furiously at the Hinos' shrine. For the first few days she had been bored enough to join them, but it just wasn't as much fun when they were all trying to be serious, Usagi included. That left her with very little to do for the most part.

'So that's it...' she thought to herself. It all seemed very anti-climactic. Come home just to get yelled at by her mother, have a day playing around with Usagi and the others, and then nothing. She had read through Rei's manga collection so many times that those comics were no longer reason enough to head over there if she couldn't at least have some fun distracting the others.

Even though she had been so fed up in Seiji, feeling so useless, at least she had their company. She didn't remember her life feeling quite so isolated before, and her meagre work didn't seem to be enough to forget the fact that she missed just having them around. But then she had been living under the same roof as the other four for quite a long time now. She supposed it was only natural to feel a little lonely now that they all had their own homes to go to, and their own work to get on with.

Standing by Minako's chair, and watching her shifting expressions with an amused little smile, Haruka finally broke the back-stage silence. "What's wrong, Mina-chan. Don't tell me you're nervous."

That snapped Minako out of her reverie. "What? Me? Haha, I've done this before." She gave Haruka a curious look. Or rather, she gave Sailor Uranus a curious look. "Are you?"

Uranus - for that was who she was right then - shook her head, her smirk growing. "Hardly, I've done this before too." Then she looked down at herself, and at the blue edged sailor outfit she wore. "It's the first time I've ever wished that this skirt was longer though."

Minako giggled, "Heehee. Oh, you've got good legs. It won't hurt. You should show them off more often."

Uranus just shook her head. "I'd rather not."

Minako heaved out a fake sigh. "Oh, such a waste..." Then her face lost that joking edge and she gave her press conference partner an embarrassed but genuine smile. "Thanks for agreeing to do this."

From the curtain that hung at the edge of the platform the stagehands watched them with bewildered amazement. The Sailor Senshi were almost urban myths, guardians and heroes whose appearances were almost as much of a mystery as those of the monsters they fought. They didn't even seem to exist beyond their battles for the lives of the people of Japan, and indeed those of the Earth itself if the stories were to be believed.

And here was this wannabe starlet, chatting with one of the Sailor Senshi like an equal. What made her so special? What made her so lucky? What on earth had happened to these schoolgirls and superheroes while they had been gone that could have forged a bond between such different standards of people?

"Aino-san, Sailor Uranus-sama, it is time to go on."

Minako nodded, put on her best smile, and smoothed down her dress. It was one of her best, an eye-catching, red shoulderless one that she saved for interviews and the most special of dates, and over it she wore the tasselled, veil-like shirt of her Seijian dancing costume. The two together looked nothing short of stunning, and just a little foreign in the best of ways.

"Let's get this show on the road."

Minako smiled as she took the stage, the polite applause flowing over her and the flash of cameras following her to her chair. Maybe having her own work to worry about wasn't so bad after all. Rei and the others didn't know what they were missing!

And then, of course, came her own little snatch of genius as Sailor Uranus followed her onto the stage. None of the reporters had been told that one of the actual Sailor Senshi would be making an appearance, and at once the tall heroine was showered with attention. Only her practice with cameramen stopped Uranus from squinting as dozens of camera flashes bombarded her, and the applause that she was greeted with was remarkable. Both the girls had long been seated before either of them could be heard over the excited noise.

"Not bad, eh?" Minako whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

From a distance you couldn't tell, but up close Minako could see that Uranus was trying not to laugh.

Then, when it came to it, Minako picked out the reporter that had found them all at the Crown to ask the first question, just for his good will. And so the story was spun from there.

---

Ami closed her eyes and slowly removed her reading glasses, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Okay, why don't we take a break now," she said, sounding tired.

"Ahh, at last!" Usagi exclaimed, draping herself over the tabletop. "This is so hard..."

For once Rei didn't have a biting comeback for that. She had all manner of excuses for why she held her tongue, but in truth she just didn't feel like it. She was as mentally exhausted as the rest of them, and she was glad of the company. If it hadn't been for the others she would have given up already.

"Ami-chan," Makoto asked, "can we have the distraction now?"

Ami just smiled and nodded as she sat back on her cushion. "I think we all need the blood sugar."

Usagi and Rei's eyes lit up as Makoto produced a box from her bag and placed it on the table. "Exam cake!"

"Of course," Makoto replied, feeling proud of herself. "Ami-chan just said that I should hide it, after all the time you spent procrastinating with my cookies."

"Not fair," Usagi moaned, but she was the first to take a piece of the lemon-iced cake for herself. "You're the best Mako-chan."

Rei nodded, and flopped over to lay her head on Makoto's knees. "Aren't you just..."

Makoto blushed, but didn't complain, and picked off a small bit of her own slice to feed to her girlfriend.

Usagi's eye's lit up at the sight and she gave them a sly smile. "Ohhh, look at the lovebirds... And in public too!"

Ami had the decency to look embarrassed, as did Makoto, but Rei just stuck her tongue out at Usagi. "Be quiet, idiot," she shot back, though it was more playful than anything. "This is what new girlfriends do, right Mako?"

Makoto just blushed. "Ahh, yes. I mean, I don't mind." She didn't mind in the least, even if it was in front of their friends. She fed Rei some more of her cake, which got her a very happy smile in return. She barely even noticed Usagi's romantic turn as that smile made her feel a little warmer inside.

"Ahh, I wish my Mamo-chan was here," Usagi moaned, looking wistfully at the pair. "No fair that you two get to be all sappy when you're together so often. I'm jealous!"

"Usagi-chan," Rei countered, "you get to live with him! You've been sleeping in the same bed every night for a year!"

Ami cleared her throat, blushing brightly, and the other three all gave her an apologetic glance as she changed the subject. "Mako-chan, would you like me to help with anything? You have been very quiet."

Makoto gave her an awkward smile. She hadn't told them about her problems, but it must have been obvious that she wasn't working as hard as Rei and Usagi. What was the point when she would have to re-take the year? She could be there to try and support Rei and the others, and do a little work of her own, but she couldn't tell Ami that she had no chance of passing. "Ahh, no, it's okay. I understand it, it's just getting through all the material."

Looking up from her lap Rei frowned and nudged her a little, but Makoto didn't explain any further. Rei just didn't get it. They had already talked about this, but Makoto was still afraid to admit that anything was wrong? Why was she bottling it all up? It would just make Makoto miserable, and Rei would end up worrying about her.

But as soon as the moment came it passed. "Well I still don't get it," Usagi said, not noticing the cautious edge that Rei had seen in Makoto's eyes. "How can I write about the reasons communism doesn't work if I don't understand them?"

"That's because most people aren't as considerate as you, Usagi-chan" Makoto replied.

Usagi's reflexes kicked in and her mouth had opened before she had even registered what she had heard. "Hey, I am not... ah, that was a compliment?" Usually when people singled her out it was for a less than flattering reason.

Ami smiled as she watched her friends joking with each other, but behind that smile she felt a little guilty. It wasn't their fault that all their talk about romance made her so envious. She was glad for them. Usagi had fought long and hard to keep Mamoru, against both monsters and more human, familial threats. Likewise she had often been there to sympathise with Makoto about the girl's lack of success with relationships, so seeing her so flustered and happy was wonderful. The fact that it also made Rei happy made it all the better.

And she had found herself wanting the same. Worse, she knew exactly whose lap it was she wanted to rest her head on, and whose flirting she wanted to be embarrassed by. She shook her head, well aware that she was thinking too much about all the wrong things. She had known it might be a little hard at first. She just hadn't expected those feelings to linger like they had, or that they might feel so acute.

"Ami-chan," Usagi asked, looking into the young woman's face with concern in her eyes, "are you okay? I haven't been a pain taking up all your time, have I?"

Ami just shook her head and let go of those thoughts. "No, not at all Usagi-chan. I'm just tired. I haven't been studying properly for a while, so maybe I'm out of practice!"

"What?" Rei said, once again upright and looking astonished. "You made us all study like slaves in Seiji!"

"Well, besides that," Ami agreed with an embarrassed smile. She didn't see it quite the same way that Rei obviously did.

Makoto on the other hand had not been too wrapped up in her own worries to miss the cause of Ami's. She couldn't bring up her suspicions of course, that would only make things worse, but she could at least try to give her friend a little space if she needed it. "Listen, Ami-chan, we don't have to work you so hard. We can try and help each other for a while if you want a proper break. Plus, you have your own tests to study for as well."

Usagi nodded in agreement. "We don't want to take up all your time and tire you out! I mean, this isn't exactly like high school. We're all studying such different things and everything."

That was what made them such good friends, Ami knew. Considerate to a fault, that fault being that they did it even when it wasn't necessary. "Really, that isn't a problem. You aren't stopping me doing anything, and it's my pleasure to help. I like seeing all the things you are working on!"

Makoto and Usagi just looked at her. "Strange girl..."

Ami giggled. "Rei-chan, may I make a little tea to keep us going?"

"Of course." She thought a moment before standing up. "Actually, I'll come with you. My legs are going numb."

Makoto raised an eyebrow at that. Rei was a master when it came to sitting properly, so why the lie?

Rei on the other hand had been thinking about Makoto's reaction to Ami. Makoto knew their genius friend better than anyone, and she was worried about her. Rei was sure she could see patterns emerging in the way Makoto spoke, especially about certain people, that said a lot more that she actually put into words. In Seiji Rei had said that she was always willing to listen if Ami needed her too, and if this was one of those times...

"No, really Rei-chan, it's fine," Ami replied once Rei had asked, the two of them alone as Ami filled the teapot. However, it was said far too quietly, with a resigned sort of calmness to it. "Did Mako-chan put you up to asking?"

"No," Rei replied as she handed Ami the tea for the pot. "But I think she notices better than I do. I know you two have always been close, even when the rest of us aren't there."

She sighed, knowing that Ami wasn't going to open up, but she wasn't going to push. Ami was in a difficult situation. If she did still have feelings for Haruka then Rei knew that, in truth, there was little she could say that would help, but at least she could lend an ear when it was wanted.

And then, Makoto was keeping her feelings to herself as well. Simply admitting them to Rei wasn't going to help solve anything if she didn't open up to the people that could actually help.

"You and Makoto are very alike," Rei finished. "Far more so than I thought."

"What?" Ami asked, suddenly defensive. What was Rei saying? That Ami was closer to Makoto that she was? "No, we're not Rei-chan, I mean, not really."

Rei looked at her, confused by her reaction, before she realised what Ami was inferring. "Ami-chan, I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry, I was just thinking out loud." She sighed, but soldiered on. Ami might at least be able to help Makoto if she wasn't going to help herself.

"Ami-chan, I know this might be a bit too much, but could I ask for a favour?"

---

"I'm home!" Minako called. She slipped inside with a broad smile plastered onto her face and left her shoes haphazardly in the entrance hall. "Did you see me on the TV?"

"Yes," came the chorus of her parent's voices from the living room. "We saw you on the TV Minako."

Minako giggled and danced her way in to join them, flopping down on the settee next to her mother. "Well, what did you think?"

Aino Kikon did as she always did in such situations; she humoured her. She had never shared any of her daughter's tastes and had been wrong footed by Minako's impulsive enthusiasms more times than she could remember, but Minako had done well. Her daughter always did when she really put her mind to it, so in Kikon's mind that was worthy of praise. It was a rare enough occasion, so she had learned to make the most of any opportunity to encourage her when she did well.

"You looked very professional, dear," she replied, much to Minako's delight. "And to be seen with one of the Sailor Senshi..." Kikon felt a quirk of maternal pride in her lip. "That made you look very good indeed. Matsudaira-san even came by to talk about that while the program was still on."

Minako nodded, very smug that they had gained so much face. Having a busybody like Matsudaira come to hobnob with them because of her was a sure sign of success. "I'm hot property now because of that," she beamed. "Mikiyo-san says at least one brand name wants me to star in their next advertising run!"

"I should hope so," her father said from across the room. While her mother was willing to be impressed by Minako's turn of luck, her father didn't share that view. "That's her job."

"Yokozuki!" Kikon admonished.

The Aino patriarch wasn't going to have it though. "It's a media whim," he replied, "not a proper job. Those people are just latching onto you because you had the bad luck to run into those crazy super-heroines. Once they get bored of your adventure stories, then what? You can't rely on those people Minako. It's not good for you."

"That's enough Yokozuki!" his wife said, getting to her feet, but Minako was already on the way to the door with an angry frown on her face. 'What does he know about show business?' Minako fumed. What did he know about how hard she worked, just because she wasn't stuck in an office somewhere? And who was he to call her crazy for risking her life as Sailor Venus?

Once she had stormed out of the room Kikon sat back down, both worried for her daughter and annoyed at her good for nothing husband. "That was too far," she said, not bothering to disguise the distaste in her voice. "You know how much this means to her."

"I know that you don't approve either," Yokozuki replied, putting his paper down.

Then, to the surprise of both of them, Minako stormed back into the room and shoved a small slip of paper into her father's face. "That's what my no-good job gets me, and I worked hard for every single yen!"

With that she spun on her heels and stalked out of the room again, up the stairs, and slammed the door to her bedroom. Artemis looked up from his spot on her bed, ready to comfort the scowling girl after that little shouting match.

"I'm proud of you Mina-chan," he said, padding over to her and leaning into her hand. "You did good, and you looked great in that dress."

Minako just sighed, her frown fading a little as she petted him. "Thanks Artemis."

Meanwhile, her father just stared at the cheque Minako had thrust at him, and over his shoulder he heard a quiet 'Oh my,' as his wife took a look. This whole fiasco was big news he supposed, even if it wouldn't last, but that one press conference had earned Minako more than he saw in a month. A lot more.

---

Michiru couldn't quite put her finger on it. She found herself watching Haruka's expression as Haruka watched the fish swim behind the glass screens. It was peaceful and curious - observant in a way that she did not often see in Haruka's eyes.

"Is it just me, or are you actually growing interested in the aquarium?" she asked.

Haruka's eyes left the swimming shoals and she gave Michiru a slanted grin. "You should know, it's not the fish."

'Touche indeed,' Michiru thought with a smile as the two of them moved past to the next tank.

And once again Haruka's eyes found their way to the floating skates, and Michiru felt that slight strangeness again. Haruka was connecting to the sight in a way that Michiru herself usually did, and yet it gave birth to an unease inside herself. Haruka had frustrated her before, even angered her, but never made her uneasy. It was actually a little scary, and yet was it anything but her own indefinable reaction to her lover's presence at her side again?

She took Haruka's arm, and leaned into her shoulder. "Haruka... What do you see there?"

A small moment passed before Haruka chuckled at her question. "What do I see? I can see skate, plaice, sole... There are some rays in the next tank too," she finished with a cheeky smile.

"You silly fool." And when Michiru was trying to be serious as well. "I mean what are you seeing, when you gaze at them like that. Or are you just trying to humour me?"

Haruka shrugged, but it wasn't entirely non-committal. "I see lots of thing. Things that seem as foreign to me as the fish are to the air. But it's worth it, because I can see things that remind me of you. You swim more beautifully than any fish."

Michiru felt that familiar warmth spreading out through her breast, and she turned Haruka away from the tank, looking deeply into her eyes and stroking away that overlong hair. "Never mind."

People stared as they kissed, and the pair paid them no mind at all. Maybe Michiru was imagining things and maybe she wasn't, but what did it matter?

Haruka gave her a pleased but curious look as Michiru finally put the tips of her high heels back on the ground. "What was that for?"

Michiru just smirked at her. "I could have asked you the same thing." She backed away to their usual, respectable distance, merely walking arm in arm. "You can be so awkward."

Haruka nodded in agreement. "And you can be so fickle."

Michiru also agreed. And then she watched as Haruka's gaze grew distant once again, more slowly this time, but distant all the same. Michiru could see her eyes following the ghost-like rays as they floated and soared through the deep blue waters. What did those aquatic phantoms become behind Haruka's eyes? What uncertainties did Haruka see that escaped Michiru's sight?

That was what they were, Michiru realised. Uncertainties. Haruka had told her as much, if in a much more poetic way. Haruka was not a woman who was uncertain. She might have disliked being certain of herself, of her choices and beliefs, but certain she had always been. Even as a Senshi that had always been the same. As Uranus she was steadfast and unwavering. She might have agonised over her orders, but she always followed them through to the end.

Michiru was the complement to that. As both Kaioh Michiru and as Sailor Neptune she made her decisions far more swiftly. She could see what was needed, and she set herself the path.

Then, once on the path, she would waver. She knew it. Her conviction was strong, but her will would falter when faced with the reality of what she had chosen. She had made them promise to each other that, should anything happen to one of them, the other would go on regardless. Uranus had been so reluctant to agree, but it had been Neptune herself who had broken that promise when the time came.

Michiru was the decisive strength to set them moving, and Haruka was the unwavering strength to follow through.

And now she could see that, as Haruka gazed at these undulating, ethereal creatures, her lover had found a reason to waver. A reason that she dared not share. It had been so long since Haruka had chosen to hide anything from her, and that was the source of Michiru's unease. Not since before they had become partners had Haruka chosen to fight her personal battles alone when Michiru had offered her a helping hand.

But Haruka was allowed her privacy. It would make Michiru worry, not knowing what it was that her girlfriend deliberated on, or what had caused it, but Haruka would tell her when it was time. Surely she would.

---

How many years had it been, Mizuno Katsura wondered, since she had last eaten a meal with her daughter? Certainly not since Ami had enrolled in medicine at university. Most likely it was some time before the last Great Battle of Tokyo. Katsura had practically been living at the hospital after that, tending to the injured that she had been brought in the wake of that cataclysmic battle between Senshi and their invading pretenders.

It was all too easy to see, she had realised. Such things had started a trend. Katsura would have to make excuses so that she could work and Ami would accept them, saying that she also had things to do. Surely one would have thought that, after such an event, family would band together, glad that they had not been caught up in that madness.

Yet for the two of them, it was quite the opposite. It gave Kastura work that she could not put off, and gave Ami the chance to spend time with her friends as they comforted each other after the fact.

Katsura couldn't help but think that, at long last, she was living out the correct cliche. Only after losing Ami had she realised just how much she could have done for her, and never had the chance. So, now that everything had been put right, she had found the time. She had made her excuses and had left the hospital at a proper hour, ready to have their first real meal together in several years.

And it felt so awkward. She had not expected that. Together at the table they knew they were both making the effort, but what little small talk they had managed could never have lasted through a meal. Ami was not a shy schoolgirl any more. If anything she was the one teaching others now. Katsura had always been proud of Ami for her intellect and her obedience, and it flattered her that her daughter wanted to follow her footsteps into medicine, but what did Katsura have to talk to her about any more?

What were her hobbies? What books was she reading? Ami was an adult, and she didn't need her mother's help or permission in the way that she once did. Katsura didn't have that parental window into her daughter's life any more. Ami was living her own life, and had been for a long time.

"How are your friends coping with catching up?" she asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

If there was one constant about Ami's life, it was her friends. Those girls had made Ami into a happier person, and even the separation of university had not been able to break the bond between them. Even if she knew nothing else, Katsura could be sure that they would always have a place in Ami's mind.

Ami looked up from her plate and gave a small, polite smile. "They are managing. I should say -we- are managing. It is quite a challenge for all of us, with so little time before the end of the semester."

Katsura nodded. "I'm proud of you for taking the time to help them. Your reports always said you had a faculty for it."

"I have already written my draft dissertation," Ami replied, "so I can spare the time. It won't be perfect, but given the circumstances..."

Katsura sighed. It was a shame, but, "It can't be helped. It is better that they are not penalised for circumstances beyond their control."

Ami was glad that her mother understood, even if it was disappointing. Her mother was a driven woman after all, and she knew her mother expected the same of her. Not that she had ever disappointed her. Ami had been a star student by any reckoning, and had been put on an accelerated course when she had first applied for her degree.

Of course, what was there to say about that? Her mother had already blazed that trail, albeit at a more normal pace. No, Ami was not going to try hunt for attention or praise. She was just doing what she should be, to the best of her ability.

But Ami found the air uncomfortable as well. Her mother had specifically made time for her, and Ami could do nothing but make small talk. How was work at the hospital? Was she taking enough time for herself? A few compliments on the food and the wine.

Ami genuinely smiled at the thought there. She remembered the meals they used to have, and the glass of wine she had been allowed even before she had reached drinking age. They had used to talk a lot more. About school, about the many things her mother saw in work, about Ami's medical and intellectual fascinations...

Ami had not realised that so much had changed since then. Now Ami's fascinations had found themselves buried beneath more immediate concerns, and their stories had all been heard before.

Ami realised then that she was the source of that quiet. She wanted to spend more time with her mother, and yet her mind was wandering. Her mother was trying to engage with her, and Ami wasn't able to do the same. "I'm sorry Mother. I know you made time for me, and I end up feeling out of sorts."

Katsura looked on with concern as Ami finished the last of her meal and rose from the table.

"I'll clean up. The meal was wonderful," Ami said, putting on a smile.

"Okay. I will find us something to watch." Katsura paused, "Unless I am pushing you."

Ami shook her head as she gathered up the plates, trying to put her mother's mind at ease. "No, I'd like that."

Katsura smiled at that. "Alright. I'll find something girly and nostalgic. And..." she ventured, "it is alright to talk to me, if it would make you feel less 'out of sorts'."

Ami's expression grew reflective and her smile became more sincere. "Rei-chan said that as well today. I must look bad."

"Just a little," her mother admitted. "If you, or your friends, need help then I will do what I can. You grew too quiet and melancholic as a child. I don't like to think of those feelings coming back to you again after so long."

Ami nodded, trying to put on a brave face. Even so, she couldn't find her voice to answer. She felt this way because she couldn't do anything but soldier on, and because of the things that she couldn't even tell her own mother, or Usagi.

But, as her mother turned to leave, she realised there was one thing she could do. "Mother!"

Katsura stopped in the doorway, caught off guard my Ami's urgent voice. "Ami, what it is?

"... Rei-chan said that Mako-chan needs help. You know she lives alone. She's being proud and silly, but she's not doing well, money wise. She didn't even admit why she isn't studying properly, because she doesn't want us to know that she has to re-take the year."

A glimmer of understanding appeared in Katsura's eyes. "She doesn't want you to think that she is letting you down."

Ami nodded. "I think so."

"She has very good friends," Katsura said. "I think we might be able to help her, if she wants us too. As long as she wouldn't be embarrassed by accepting it."

Ami's face lit up. "Thank you Mother. I'll talk to her."

Katsura just smiled and nodded, glad to finally have aired some of Ami's worry. Even if it was only, as she was beginning to suspect, a small and very recent part of it.

---

The next morning Rei found herself putting on her shrine maiden's garb with a little trepidation. Thankfully she would have to be at her college for midday, but she could only wonder how much more lunacy the general public would be able to inflict upon her during an entire morning. She could already hear people milling outside, burying her grandfather in questions or trying to play with the resident pair of crows.

"Who would have thought I'd be getting bored of being famous?" she wondered out loud. Normally she would have been lapping it up, but the weave of public lies was getting bigger by the day. Minako and Usagi were having a ball, as expected, but the pressure of keeping up the act was getting to everyone else. It showed all too clearly at their cram sessions.

Makoto was just choosing to keep as quiet as possible so that she didn't say anything that might blow the gaff, and was generally retreating from the world outside her studies, her work, and what time she could spend with Rei and the others. Of course, with everything that was going on they were being recognised far too often, so as much as Makoto seemed to want to make good on that promise of a real date, it didn't seem as though she was going to go through with it. At least not for a while.

That annoyed Rei more than anything else. Fame was fine, but it was intruding on her life, and making her girlfriend reluctant to go out.

And Makoto was worried about Ami, which didn't help matters. She wasn't admitting as much, but it was so very obvious. Usagi and Rei had had a long chat on the subject, but Makoto's unwillingness to meddle was enough to keep the pair of them from doing any more. After all, Ami's natural reaction to all the attention had been to hide away in her own personal shell, and even Usagi had to admit that the girl would come out when she was ready, and only then. At least she was finally getting to spend time with her mother as a result.

Rei had barely seen anything of Haruka in the week and a bit since they had returned to Japan. It was a shame, because Rei had come to enjoy her company again after everything they had been through together. Haruka had been an inspiration to stay strong after the things Rei had done.

But she could understand it. Haruka had a partner and child of her own to return to, so it was no wonder that she wanted to spend every possible minute with them. Both Haruka and Michiru had been surprisingly low key about the whole thing, so the media was trying to have a field day just using the scraps that the pair said and the few, fleeting shots that the odd photographer could get. Being as famous as they were already, both for their early professional successes and for being perhaps the highest profile lesbian couple in Japan, the gossip magazines wanted everything they could get.

Of course, for the couple in question it seemed like water off a duck's back, but from what little Rei had seen on the television she had no idea what they really thought of it all. It was a surprise that they had not made any kind of acknowledgement for the cameras.

And Rei herself... She wanted to enjoy it, but it didn't feel right. She felt a little like a criminal, taking all the attention when all she had really done to deserve it was lie. And she had taken someone's life. More than one person's in fact. Criminals were famous, but she didn't want to feel that kind of fame. That's how it felt, even if nobody but her friends and her grandfather knew.

How could Minako smile for the cameras so easily when she had done the same? Rei had seen the conflict and the grief behind the strong front Minako had put up when she had been forced to slit that Seijian soldier's throat. Was Minako really so much more mature than Rei when it came down to dealing with it?

But Rei wasn't going to dwell on the past. She had lived through it, and come out a wiser person. She had her friends, she had her studies to get on with and she had her Grandfather to help at the front of the shrine. As she left her room she couldn't help wondering what Makoto was doing right then. She was probably at work, cooking away at the back of the noodle shop with that cute white scarf over her hair to keep it all tucked away.

All in all, Rei decided, she was better off than she deserved to be.

"Grandpa!" she called as she emerged from the side entrance of the shrine. "You are behaving out here aren't you?"

Grandpa Hino was leading an unusually large group of people in one of his meditations that, as usual, looked less that contemplative. "Rei, my darling Granddaughter, come and help me strengthen the souls of our customers!"

Then from the gates a suddenly energetic looking man with a notepad made a beeline for her. He had been there yesterday as well, and had gathered a few more people in his wake this time. "Hino-san, I've just heard that you used to sing in high school - and even before that - with much success. Can you give any credence to the rumours that you might use your new high profile to return to the stage?"

Rei felt her eyebrow twitch as she looked back and forth between the two groups. 'Give me strength...'

---

Minako had raised her hand to the doorbell of the Kaioh / Tenoh / Meioh household when, to her surprise, the door almost opened right into her.

"Oh Minako-san, I'm so sorry!" Hotaru gasped as Minako tottered back down the path, having narrowly missed getting the door in her face.

For her part Minako just grinned and waved it off. She was in far too good a mood to say anything about it, and even if she hadn't been Hotaru was one of those lucky people that it was impossible to take offence to. At least for the people who knew her. "Heh heh, don't worry about it," Minako said once she had regained her balance.

She watched with a smile as Hotaru's parents poked their heads around the door, both wondering why they weren't leaving. "Hotaru? Oh, Minako-chan," Michiru said as she delicately threaded herself past her adopted daughter, before bowing a little. "Thank you for taking care of Uranus-chan last week."

Minako could feel Haruka's petulant frown before she saw it. "Oh, that's not a problem Michiru-san, she behaved herself very well."

"Oi oi, are we going to the park or are we going to poke fun all day?" Haruka groused, though it was a good natured little moan.

"But you looked so darling!" Hotaru added, leaving Michiru to giggle and Haruka just sighing in embarrassed dismay.

"I wonder who she gets -that- from," Haruka said, looking pointedly at Michiru and trying to conceal her grin at the thought.

Minako just nodded in Michiru's support. "She has the duty to raise a proper princess after all!"

Then Minako let her amusement go and turned her mind back to the reason she was there in the first place. "Haruka-san, here, I have your share," she said as she produced a cheque from her handbag.

Haruka took it with due thanks before she handed it to Michiru, for safe keeping. "That should keep out Hotaru in tutelage for a little longer."

Hotaru didn't think much of that, but accepted the comment in the spirit that it was meant. "It is such a shame that I can't skip it all like my parents and jump straight into professional stardom," she lamented jokingly.

"Yes," Haruka noted in the same sarcastic way. "You'd love it, wouldn't you."

Minako knew just what Haruka meant by that. Hotaru was a brilliant pupil, several years ahead in high school already, and she would probably get into university early as well. However, to go with that intellect, one on par with Ami's if you took into account their age difference, she had been cursed with a distinct discomfort towards her parents' more public lives. She was a quiet girl when left to herself, and given more to using her unnatural academic talents for the enjoyment of it rather than reaping any kind of reward.

Minako couldn't blame her either. As friendly as she was, it was hard for the girl to actually make real friends. Her strange, deep aura made her seem older than her accelerated years, and the power that came with it made people afraid. It was ironic in a way. Sailor Saturn, the soldier of death and destruction, had the largest cult following of all the Senshi. She supposed it was her young innocent, appearance put into contrast with the awesome, dominating power she wielded. And yet, as a civilian it was her psychic power to heal that made people afraid of her.

"Well," Minako said, "when she wins that Nobel Prize then she can have those words for dinner!"

"Minako-san!" Hotaru exclaimed as she blushed furiously. She was also chronically modest when she was paid a genuine complement.

Haruka just smiled at the display. "Say, Minako-chan, are you busy? Do you want to come to the park with us?"

Minako looked to Hotaru with a confused air. "Aren't you a little old to be taken to the park to play?"

Hotaru sighed. "This isn't to 'play' Minako-san. This is study."

"For her school club," Haruka explained.

"Oh, the art club? So you're getting Michiru-san to help you!" Minako said, faking her shock. "Hotaru-chan, are you cheating?!"

"No!" Hotaru exclaimed, before she put on a pout as she realised that Minako was having her on. "Oh, you all make fun of me!"

"Now now," Haruka said, mollifying her daughter. "I think it's a good idea, choosing to paint a painter. And now you can paint a D-list would-be television celebrity too!"

"Hey! Who are you calling D-list -Tenoh-san-?!"

---

Despite the slight against her aspirations to stardom Minako found herself enjoying the morning as she sat next to Michiru on the slope at the south edge of the park, watching out of the corners of their eyes as the two of them were painted.

"She really likes art, huh?" Minako said, making conversation as they posed. "I bet that feels good."

Michiru had to agree. "Yes, it does. She lacks spontaneity, but her work is developing a good style." Of course that hadn't been what Minako had meant. "It is nice having something to share with her. And that she has people in the club to share an interest with. She disliked me quite a bit when I made her sign up for it."

"It was all for the best though, right? You just wanted her to have friends."

"Yes." Michiru found Minako's optimism infectious. And, as the morning wore on, it also occurred to her that she had someone with her who most likely knew the truths that had remained hidden concerning Haruka's time away.

"It took me a while to notice after all that time," she said, purposely oblique as she began to explain something so personal. "I think it must be easy to miss the signs when you think you have already reached the goal."

"Michiru-san?" Minako asked, utterly confused, before Hotaru once again admonished her from the distance for moving.

"There is a distraction in her eyes," Michiru continued, remaining motionless in her casual pose. "A distraction that I did not think anything of. I was too busy enjoying her return."

"You mean Haruka-san..." Minako noted. Warning bells were going off in her head, and they did not go unnoticed by Michiru.

"So you do know. She has always had secrets Minako-chan. She is a woman far too complicated for her own peace of mind. It might only be a lie of omission, because I don't know what questions to ask, but she has not kept things from me for as long as we have been together. Her worries have been mine for all that time, and now there is something inside her, keeping her thoughts inside herself."

"I don't know what you mean," Minako half-lied. She didn't know, but that didn't mean there were not possibilities that she could guess at. "She seems okay to me. But isn't it a woman's prerogative to have a few little secrets?"

Michiru found Minako's frankness amusing, but she didn't buy the answer. "There was a time, not too long ago, when I seemed to be the only person that she was truly comfortable around. Would you believe me if I said that, now, she only seems to relax when not alone with me?"

She sighed. "Naturally she has her secrets still, but Haruka is no ordinary woman. I like to think that I know her, and now I find myself at a loss. Is she simply wondering what new motorbike parts she would like to buy? If it is so unimportant, why does it seem to pervade her mind so deeply? Does she feel too guilty, too ashamed or too angry at something to tell me? There is a shade of seriousness there that makes her bite her lip before a joke that she might otherwise have made. That hesitant tenderness that appears now when she takes my hand.

"It is as you say. I have my own secrets, as is a woman's privilege, but she knows that. She permits me to have them because, if they were ever to become important - if they ever became something that truly affected either of us - then she knows that I would tell her."

Michiru bowed her head. "But Haruka has always allowed me to see these things. It has been a part of -us-, because it was how I came to know her, and how I saw her grow into the woman she is. Because she permitted me to know those deepest, inner secrets of hers."

Minako didn't respond for a while, as Hotaru called to her mother to keep her pose. Minako could see her friend's point, but it was not her place to voice any of the reasons that came into her head. And, even if she did, how could she know which one of them might be the cause of what Michiru described.

But, most of all, Haruka was allowed her privacy. It was her choice what to say and what to keep hidden, and it was not Minako's place to meddle. At least, not when the results would betray their confidence. The deaths, the loves, the dark results of the forces they had tapped into, any one of those could damage the lives that they had reclaimed now that they were home. They all had reasons to hold their tongues, no matter how great or how insignificant those reasons might have been.

But then, didn't everyone? Their situation was unusual and extreme, but everyone kept secrets, and many would never matter because that exactly what they were. Secret.

"Don't worry Michiru-san. I mean, you know her better than me, so I can't really say but... If it really matters, I'm sure she will tell you. We all went thought a lot, but we're back now."

She smiled sadly at the memory as she stared off into the distance. "You know, when we were going through everything, I thought, 'What if we can't get back? Would it be so bad?'. I thought that, if it wasn't for being manipulated by everyone, we could have had an okay life in that world. But I was wrong. I was weak, and I gave up too soon. And d'you know what Haruka-san said? She said she was sorry for not giving up along with me, but all that she wanted was to come back to you and Hotaru, and be a family again."

"Minako-chan..." That was a revelation for Michiru. She knew it had been hard for them, Haruka's stories had not been sugar coated, but the idea that Minako could have lost hope - that really gave her pause for thought.

"I'm sure it's okay," Minako said again. "Maybe you're making a meal out of a molehill?"

Michiru nodded, feeling a smile return to her face as she pictured that mangled image. Of course, Michiru was a perceptive young woman, and she didn't miss the undercurrent of tension beneath Minako's words.

"Thank you, Minako-chan. I am sorry that you were put through such trials and tribulations."

Minako shrugged, looking over to Haruka and Hotaru to see if she could move again. "It's not like anyone said being a champion for justice was easy." Then as Haruka and Hotaru both gave her a warning look, she let out a sigh. "We can't move yet? My leg's gone to sleep!"

"I did warn you not to sit at such an angle," Michiru quipped, even as her thoughts began to turn over in the wake of their conversation.

---

Behind her makeshift roadside stall, Myoshiya watched as the bustle of Tokyo suburbia passed back and forth. These humans had been rushing from place to place all day, and the day before that, and the day before that. She had never expected there to be so may of the creatures out away from the city centre, or that she would have been able to blend in so inconspicuously with just a little magic. Myoshiya wasn't even very good at disguises, but her sisters had assured her that even her own meagre skill at illusions would be enough, and they had been right.

Aretsuki had been partnered with her this time, and Myoshiya watched with a morbid sort of fascination as the young girl effortlessly served another of the ignorant human women who came to gawp at her wares. Her youngest sister did it with such ease. Myoshiya had barely been able to restrain her fear and loathing at each and every one of those customers as they approached her, intent on handing over more of their money in exchange for silver and gem studded adornments. She wanted to reach out and pluck their energy right out of them, if only to avenge herself. If only to protect herself. If only to make them go away.

So Aretsuki, ever optimistic, had taken over the counter, and let her get on with their jewelling. Myoshiya was good at it after all. Even in her clumsy human guise the nimbleness and precision of her fingers shone through in the brooches she made. In her true form she could have moulded and carved the metal directly, but even relying on tools she created brooch after brooch in a fraction of the time it would have taken a human artisan.

And what brooches they were. The silver tendrils wrapped back and forth around each other, with simple and yet carefully detailed leaves folding across the surface, giving the delicate jewellery enough strength so that its vine-line base did not simply snap as it was handled. Then, in the centre of each, was the gemstone, each one a subtly different colour from the last, set into the middle of a silver flower.

They had not had much time to set up their operations, but Aretsuki had suggested the flowers, as they were something that Myoshiya herself took great pleasure in. While she feared and hated the humans, she had taken a loving care over their brief studies of the flowering plants that appeared around the city. The humans had a hidden power, a power that had somehow destroyed her people, but the flowers were honest. A beauty untainted by envy or jealousy or ambition. Even her sisters were not without those vices, but Myoshiya did at least trust them.

Looking at the new customer at the stall, Myoshiya saw everything that embodied what she disliked about humans. This one was tall and carried herself with an undeserved, self-important pride, which she tried to hide behind veils of respectability and politeness. Her suit was expensive and cut close to her figure, no doubt to reinforce her tall stature and to show off a curvaceous form that was rare in a Japanese woman. This one had to be more powerful and more beautiful than those around her. There was a weight of responsibility in her deep brown eyes, and she rewarded herself for it by tailoring herself to be the superior of those around her. Her tan might have made her appear loose or wilful to some eyes, but she had put together her image so that everyone would see only the proper lady that others aspired to be; affluent, powerful and presentable, yet still desirable. More so than most.

The woman seemed to study each piece intently before moving on to the next, as if looking for something intangible that she would only recognise when she finally found it. All the better as far as Myoshiya was concerned. The longer she stood at the stall the greater the chance that she and Aretsuki could siphon off that trace of energy from her. And if she bought a brooch then all the better.

"Excuse me, is this genuine garnet?" the lady asked.

Aretsuki blinked at the question before turning to her older sister.

"Of course," Myoshiya answered, holding her tongue as best she could. Aretsuki was talented with the humans, but at her age such things were still a little beyond her knowledge.

The woman gave her a smile, one that made her feel unpleasantly uncomfortable.

"No wonder your jewellery has become so popular so quickly," the lady said. "They are such a good price for the workmanship, and with such exquisite gems."

Myoshiya felt a small bloom of pride despite herself, and she forced the feeling down as she accepted the compliment. "T-thank you. You have good taste Miss. That particular stone would contrast your hair very well."

"My thoughts exactly," the customer replied, handing over both the money and her business card to Aretsuki.

"Meioh... Setsuna... You're a fashion designer?"

Setsuna smiled and nodded. "Yes. And I do like your work. It is my business to know jewellery after all."

'As well as to know the value of gemstones,' Setsuna thought to herself. 'Something that these two have no clue over.' Having them admit it had almost been too easy. True, this was the most beautiful garnet she had ever seen, but those stones could, and would, be bought by the dozen by any fashion student. This jewellery was priced for the connoisseur, worth it for the craftsmanship rather than the gem, and this pair didn't even realise it.

"It is such a shame that people here don't have the same enthusiasm for clothing and accessories recently," Setsuna lamented, making sure not to actually wear the brooch, but instead getting a paper bag for it. After all, the local women's apathy was not just limited to fashion, and now Setsuna had just confirmed her suspicions as to why. The timing, with the appearance of the stall, was too much of a coincidence.

Of course, they might just have assumed she was completely ignorant and chosen not do disillusion her about the value of the gem, but in that case seeing her business card should have got them sweating bullets, trying to put one over on a professional. No, she was sure, and it fitted a pattern that they had seen many times before. Whoever or whatever this jeweller was, she was the one responsible.

---

Ami had forgotten the fearful thrill of being Mercury. With Sailor Moon, Venus and Mars beside her, the four of them leaping from rooftop to rooftop, the sense of power was overwhelming. The power was back within the depths of her body where it belonged. She did not have to scour her past, dredging up all the memories she had so carefully buried. Her friends were her courage, her Sailor Suit was her armour, and the ice was running through her veins - not lonely and cold - but both stimulating and serene. The fear of impending battle felt small and unimportant in the shadow of that chilled and heady cocktail. Had she missed this rush so badly? How had battle in Seiji terrified her when, in her heart, she had always been one of the Senshi?

Beside her Sailor Mars let out a whoop, and the staring people below replied with a cheer. Mercury smiled. So she was not the only one who felt like that.

"I never thought I would have missed this!" Mars said, clearing another alleyway in one well timed leap.

"What are you talking about?" Sailor Moon asked as she too made the jump. "You forgot what it's like already?" She sighed as they all ran. "And really, in the middle of the day too... Why can't the monsters ever attack when I'm not caught up in something?"

"Wouldn't that be convenient!" Jupiter asked, careering up from the fire escape they were passing and joining them in their charge.

"Jupiter!" Sailor Moon fawned, taking her hand and pulling her into step with them. "I thought you wouldn't come!"

Jupiter just frowned and gave a shrug. "I managed to get away okay, it wasn't busy at work. Though that's because we have a competitor right opposite us, and they're stealing all our customers!"

Sailor Mars smirked and danced across to run beside her. "Well you'll just have to start advertising then. Wear your green sports top and shorts, and that tight apron..!"

Sailor Jupiter's eyes bulged a little. "What!? No!"

However, as the others laughed Minako stared straight ahead, looking for the turning. "Guys, this is where Pluto said!"

Sailor Moon blinked, putting on her brakes before she overshot their target. "What, already? It feels so long on the train!"

Dropping back down to the street proved Venus correct, and a little way down the rows of sparse shops stood the stall, just as Sailor Pluto had described. From a distance it looked like a fortune teller's place, draped in deep blue cloth and hung with tassels. However, as Sailor Mercury noted, most of the women in the area did indeed wear one of the flower brooches that they had been warned about.

Of course, their appearance had not gone unnoticed. Slowly the street came to a halt as everyone simply stood and watched as five bona fide super-heroines walked their way towards the stall. Super-heroines that only ever appeared when people were in danger. Even before a single move was made, every man and woman knew that this street was about to become a battlefield, and they gradually either found themselves a safe place to watch or stood in awe, ready to bolt at the first sign of any danger headed their way.

Then, as the stall's two owners looked around, wondering what was going on, another Sailor Senshi appeared from behind the makeshift shop front. "Thank you for coming so promptly, Sailor Moon."

"Pluto!" They exclaimed, and they jogged over to greet their eldest member. "Where have you been?" Sailor Venus asked. "We haven't seen you since we got back."

Sailor Pluto just smiled. "I am glad to see you all again. The future had been a much darker place while you were away." Seeing a genuine, happy smile on her face was a surprisingly rare thing, but the fact that she was happy to see them again, and not simply calling them to a fight, lifted all their spirits.

In their stall, sitting deathly still, both Myoshiya and Aretsuki watched it all play out from the corners of their eyes. "It's them..." Myoshiya whispered, feeling the sweat of fear roll down her brow.

Beside her Arestuki was trying not to shake too much. "This is not good. This is very, very not-good."

Then, with their little reunion over, Sailor Moon strode to the stall, standing no more than twelve feet from it. She cleared her throat.

Both the Dark Kingdom sisters had heard about this more-than-human champion, but nothing could compare to seeing it.

"Accessories are the glimmer of a girl's heart, bought with her hard earned money for... for..." Sailor Moon paused, standing in the middle of the street and holding her pose.

Myoshiya's awe suddenly came crashing down, and shattered around her ankles. "She's an idiot..."

"You didn't prepare your speech?!" Sailor Mars asked, disbelieving, as Mercury, Jupiter and Pluto all sighed.

"I couldn't help it!" Sailor Moon cried back. "I've got all that Tolstoy going around in my head!"

An idiot, Myoshiya realised, in love with her own image as a 'hero' for these worthless, powerless humans.

"Sailor Mercury," Pluto asked diplomatically as their princess bickered with her best friend, "could you please analyse the stall and the intruders. I have not yet managed to determine their origin, or the exact method they are draining people's energy."

"They aren't using the brooches?" Jupiter asked. It was a simple enough assumption to make, and they had seen many of the same styles of attack in the past. Venus was amused to note that several of the women watching quickly unfastened their own brooches as soon as Jupiter had said that.

"I had thought so," Pluto agreed, "But I have not been able to find any proof."

Meanwhile, as both Moon and Mars argued, Myoshiya felt a low growl emanate from her throat. "An idiot," she finally said out loud, "that killed my sisters, my queen, my Goddess... FOR THESE SPINELESS CATTLE!?"

That stopped Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars in their tracks. "Eh?"

"ENOUGH OF THIS FACADE!" Myoshiya screamed, pitching the stall aside and ripping free from her disguise. As her dress was shredded another two pairs of arms appeared from her sides, her false hair was cast aside to reveal a naturally hairless head, and her skin blossomed into a delicate shade of blue as her illusions faded away. "Aretsuki," she growled, "we need not be afraid of these tyrants."

Then a voice, handsome and refined, drifted out of nowhere. "Tyrants? Women who fight so selflessly against those who would prey on the innocent and the unprepared?"

Tuxedo Kamen hopped down from his perch on top of the broken stall roof, his trademark rose held in his gloved hand. "Against monsters like yourselves?"

"Kamen-sama," Sailor Moon said gently, feeling more than a little embarrassed. "I do appreciate the compliment, but we've kind of done the speeches bit..."

"Half done."

"Mars!"

Myoshiya felt herself boil as she righted herself after that interruption. "You..."

"Heralded by a new age, Sailor Uranus, appearing elegantly!"

Aretsuki balled up her trembling fists by her sides as another two Senshi appeared. "How many of you are there!?!"

"Likewise, Sailor Neptune, appearing gracefully!"

"You people..." Myoshiya bit out, her thin and wiry eyebrow twitching violently. "Innocence, grace, elegance, how self-satisfied can you be?"

"You know, I do sort of agree with her there," Sailor Saturn said as she followed Neptune and Uranus. "Those introductions do sound a little egotistic."

"Really?" Uranus asked. "I always thought they had a sort of punch to them."

Neptune nodded. "Grace and elegance under pressure prove that you are not a soldier to be trifled with."

"By the way," Venus said, leaning over the capsized stall, "I know this might seem a bit much, but can I ask who you two are? I mean, do we have a new enemy organisation to be worried about or is this just a one off sort of thing? Oh, and those extra arms must make things really convenient for you!"

That was it for Myoshiya's patience. She had always been embarrassed at having more limbs than her sisters. "You will learn humility..." she seethed. "And if I must be the one to teach you, then so be it!"

So saying she lashed out with one of her many arms, her long and pointed fingers missing Venus' face by mere inches as she darted away.

However, as her older sister attacked Aretsuki just stood petrified. "Big Sister, there are more of them than us!"

A truer word had never been spoken as, from Myoshiya flank, both Uranus and Neptune focused their magic in their hands.

"Deep Submerge!"

"World Shaking!"

The agile monster twisted at just the right moment, the joints in her legs collapsing in all the wrong ways, like a folding chair in the midst of a hurricane, but still she cried out as the two opposed balls of magic scorched her many shoulders. "Aaargh! Your arrogance..!"

That was distraction enough for Jupiter to slip behind her, catching as many of the creature's arms as she could and forcing them behind her back. From instinct born out of so many battles one of her friends was ready to make the most of the opening, and Venus let off a crescent beam dead centre into Myoshyia's unprotected chest.

"Big Sister!" Aretsuki cried. She leapt to her sister's defence, discarding her disguise in the blink of an eye, and she jumped onto Jupiter's back before any of the others could react. She dug her claws into Jupiter's sides, her three huge, bushy tails flailing to help her balance on the nimble girl, and she bit down hard into Jupiter's shoulder.

Myoshiya felt the hold on her arms grow slack and, just as she had with her legs, she slipped her elbows this way and that, sliding free of Jupiter's hold as her other two hands clutched at her burning chest.

Sailor Moon was not idle however, and swung at the animal-girl with her baton. "Get off my friend you fox-demon-thing!"

Aretsuki gave a keening cry as she was dislodged, the baton smacking hard into her head.

It was only then, as she narrowly dodged the razor sharp rose that zipped past her ear, that Myoshiya realised the depth of her mistake. These people were arrogant, prideful and self important, but they had also destroyed her home with the powers they wielded. Even if she took down one of them, there would be eight others with Aretsuki and herself in their sights.

A vast ball of electricity slammed into her, and she fell twitching to the floor. "Aretsuki! Run!"

The animal-child took one look at her sister before she did as she was told, and sprinted away just as Sailor Moon levelled her sceptre at her. Myoshiya herself seemed to become boneless as she twisted and weaved past a frustrated Sailor Pluto.

But the Senshi were prepared, and Mars was ready. "Flame..."

She levelled her burning bow at the retreating monster, and her hands froze. She would release her arrow...

'I can't,'

...and that faux Shiva would be consumed in flames...

'No!'

...to become one more death in her name.

All the Senshi's eyes turned to her when the arrow of fire didn't come, and Sailor Mars found the tears pouring from her eyes as she looked down the line of her Flame Sniper. "I..."

"Mars! They're getting away!" Neptune yelled, but as she prepared an attack of her own the fleeing pair had already reached their escape route. Sailor Moon watched with a queasiness in her stomach as the multi-limbed monster seemed to dislocate all six of her shoulders as squeeze herself through the sewer opening set into the curb, followed by the nimble fox-girl.

"I knew about people with double joints, but ewww!"

That was the least of her worries though, as Sailor Pluto and Sailor Neptune both turned their full attention to Mars. "What was that about Sailor Mars?" Pluto asked, a devastating trace of displeasure in her voice. "You could have ended it. Now we will have to hunt them out, or worse wait for them to strike again."

"I'm sorry," Mars said through her tears. "I just..."

"It's okay, right Mars? We can always get them next time," Sailor Moon said, trying to get between her friend and their older comrades. "Besides, they were kind of weak. I mean, I felt bad for hitting the little one. It was almost like I was bullying her."

Mars didn't say anything, but when Jupiter took her hand the Senshi of flame just threw herself into her girlfriend's arms, weeping into her chest.

"It's okay," Jupiter comforted, watched by their worried allies and unconcerned by the minor wounds she had suffered as Saturn tended to them. "It's over."

It was almost sympathetic as Sailor Moon took Tuxedo Kamen's hand, and leaned into him.

In the end Sailor Pluto just shook her head, content to leave explanations for another time. "Mercury, did you have enough time to discover their origins or methods."

Mercury nodded, glad that she could take the attention off her friend for a while. "The brooches are harmless. It was the jewels in the stall decorations that were absorbing energy. The longer a customer browsed, the more energy they would inevitably take."

Venus could see the logic in that. "And the more people that bought the brooches, the more they were advertising the stall. At least they weren't draining them dry this time."

"This time," Pluto echoed as she walked over to the toppled booth, bringing her staff down on each of the large, disk-like gems set into the backing cloth.

"It doesn't matter," Mercury said. "The energy is gone, and they seem inert now. They must have been able to take the energy with them somehow. I'm more worried about -who- they were."

"Oh?" Sailor Moon asked. "You know them?"

"We all do. At least, the five of us do," she said, meaning herself and the rest of the 'Inner' Senshi. "They had the same energy signature as the DD Girls, and as Thetis. They were youma."

"You mean, an in -Youma- youma," Venus asked, her eyes wide in surprise. "As in Dark Kingdom youma?!"

Again Mercury nodded.

However, they didn't have time to discuss that revelation, as the crowd that had been watching from the relative safety of the shop-fronts and alleys had emerged. To them all that mattered was that all the Senshi were back, and they had already driven off a monster. It did not take long for the cheers and chanting to start up, leaving the girls to make their hasty exits before they were mobbed. The news vans were already setting up as quickly as they could, hoping to catch more footage than their rivals before their subjects disappeared again.

But, needless to say, the girls had a lot to think about as they left. It had been many years since they had defeated the Dark Kingdom, and it had cost them dearly the first time around. Granted, they had become many times more powerful since then, but still, had it not been for the power of the Silver Crystal, none of the younger girls would have survived it. And as many of them knew, death was not an easy memory to shake.

---

Rei ran. In the pitch black it didn't matter where she was or where she was going, as long as she was running. Somewhere in that obsidian gloom it was watching. They were watching. Somehow they could see her in that darkness, while Rei could not even see the ground beneath her feet. They could see them all. Usagi ran beside her, as did Makoto, and Minako, and everyone else. They ran from those unseen eyes and away from the malice they held. Away from the fangs that promised exquisite pain and the lips that twisted into smiles which held no happiness.

Then Rei was running alone again. One by one her friends had disappeared. Had they made that fatal stumble? Had they been picked off as they had lagged behind? Had they found the unseen ground beneath them vanish before they had toppled into the inescapable blackness?

Rei could feel herself tiring. No matter how hard she gasped she could not get enough air to keep her going. Her muscles burned and her joints felt as though they wanted to scream, but still she tried to run. Because if she stopped running, they would get her. She would get her. It would get her.

Then she felt the hand fall lightly on her shoulder, and in that instant her very skin was set afire. She wanted to scream, but no sound came from her lips. All she could do was shudder as the dream shattered around her.

The second that she realised she was awake Rei tried to move, to scramble away, but all she could manage was a terrified spasm. Unable to move her arms or legs she began to panic, but only moments later she recognised her fear for what it was. It was just a nightmare, and she was safe. Soon her muscles relaxed themselves, and she lay gasping on her futon, sweat rolling down her forehead.

That had not been a nice dream. It had almost had that prophetic edge that all her worst nightmares had, but as usual it made no sense to her, and it probably wouldn't until it was needed. Rei blew out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling, calming the rest of her nerves. Her prophecies were always rather useless like that. Of course, the appearance of a new enemy was more than reason enough for them to start.

Not that she wanted to think about that. She had let her friends down, and let their enemy escape. It was so silly. She had helped to kill hundred of creatures like that before. They were monsters, praying on the unsuspecting public.

But, Rei thought, they were also people of a sort. Should she be allowed to kill them so easily? She shook her head and rolled over. It didn't matter. She had already shown that she couldn't do it, regardless of whether she should or not. She never wanted to feel that guilt again. She didn't want to see people die at her hands any more, even if they weren't human. She would have to find a way to make it up to everyone, but she was going to have to pass the grim duty onto someone else. Usagi would take it, if only for the chance to redeem those youma, if it was possible. None of the outers would turn down the responsibility either. They were too sworn to their duty to let something silly like guilt stop them, if they even felt it.

"And you'd do it too, wouldn't you," she asked, lying on her front as she watched Makoto sleeping in the futon that was head to head with hers. "You could be noble in my place."

Rei had fallen in love with Makoto all over again that night. After slipping further from her as she retreated away from the attention they were being lavished with, Makoto had come back to catch Rei as she had fallen.

They had been together for what had remained of the afternoon, in each other's arms as often as not even after night had fallen. Rei still could not bring herself to go the distance, but she had been in no shape to try. She had wept for a full hour, comforted by her tall, protective girlfriend while Rei's grandfather had done what he could to ease her mind. And, when they had been alone, the kisses they had shared had meant everything to Rei. Makoto's lips were soft and gentle in a way that Rei knew her own had never been. Where her own passion was reaching and almost forceful, Makoto's simply flowed as it was needed. It slowly soothed, accepting Rei's touch and yet never forcing herself back against that passion. Instead Makoto caressed, and only when Rei had retreated back into her regret had Makoto's lips taken on the strength that she was capable of. A romantic strength that wiped Rei's slate clean of all her fear and sorrow, with the simple assurance that it didn't matter. Makoto was there for her regardless.

Rei reached over with a sad smile, and gently traced her fingers across Makoto's sleeping cheek, brushing back her hair and making the girl shift on her pillow. "Makoto," Rei whispered, "I wonder what it is you saw in me. I don't know any more, but I'm really grateful. I'll try to make sure that I deserve it, because I don't think I want to give you up. I won't keep you waiting long. I promise. I'm just scared."

She leaned down and lay a careful kiss on Makoto's sleeping brow. "And I'll help you too. You don't think about yourself enough, silly thing."

---

Outside, sitting on the wooden walkway around the shrine, Grandpa Hino looked up at the stars, wonder about his granddaughter. To come home in tears, and insist that her friend be allowed to stay, even as she protested that Makoto had better things to do...

And to make such obvious excuses too. "Just a sleepover, Rei? Are you okay with that? Is she?"

He cracked a small, honest smile. "Am I?"

---

Ami stood in the darkened hallway of her mother's apartment, resting her back against the wall and looking up at the ceiling, away from the moonlight that shone in through the window of the front door. The phone was cradled against her ear, but she wasn't listening to it.

"Of course you're not there," she said to herself, the dull ringing repeating over and over, "you have a girlfriend now. Goodness knows that she needs you tonight. You are so responsible Mako-chan, even if you don't think anything of it."

Ami said it with a strange sort of smile on her lips. That night she had had something of a revelation; one that had eased her mind in its own strange way. She knew what depression was after all. Her early years at school had not been happy for her. She had always been the smartest, but that had isolated her from her classmates. They saw her as something else, something to be belittled, because she had achieved a level of success that they had not. Her teachers had praised her, but it had never been without the constant urging to do even more. To perform even better. Somehow her happiness at hearing that praise had been laced with a feeling of inadequacy. She had known she was intelligent, she had permitted her ego that much, but that constant pressure had been given no outlet.

In the end she had found her ways of coping. Taking up swimming as more than just a survival skill had been among the best. Actually talking about things with her mother had been another.

But Ami had realised a very important fact that evening. She was not coping now. She could start taking the time out to visit the leisure centre, but simply exhausting herself and forgetting her troubles in the water would not help solve her problems. Only postpone them.

But she couldn't talk to Makoto or Rei. Both were willing, she knew, but they needed each other right then. Minako knew, but as sad as it was to say, the two of them had never really talked heart to heart. They were such different people. What was common sense to Ami would miss Minako completely, and vice versa. She might have gone to Usagi, just as she might have gone to her mother. Both of them would listen and neither would judge in the least...

But how could she admit the causes to them? Ami didn't want them to know. She didn't want to see the disappointment or that sympathy for a confused child in their eyes.

She pressed the disconnect button on the phone, and dialled again. It was not the best last resort, but at least it was safe. At least now she knew that she needed help Ami could be content to ask for it. It was such a weight off her mind, even if it meant admitting to her friends that she genuinely unhappy.

"Hello? Ah, hello Hotaru-chan, it is Ami... No, there isn't an emergency... I know, I'm sorry for calling so late. Is Haruka-san there?.. Ah, that's good, could I speak with her?.. Thank you."

---

To Be Continued...

---

Please leave a review with any comments and criticisms you have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.

(c) Nutzoide 2007


	4. The Power of Love

Shooting for the Moon: Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

---

Shooting for the Moon

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 3: The Power of Love...

Compound Fractures of the Heart.

Mamoru took another glance at his fiancee as she dutifully busied herself in the sink. She took her 'duties' so seriously, despite the fact that he had told her, on many occasions, that she didn't need to worry about being traditional in such a way. When she had first moved in with him it had annoyed him no end – she had not been the most able around the house – but she had honestly tried her best. Gradually, as the year had worn on, her practice and tutelage under both Michiru and her mother had started to pay off. She was now more than capable in the kitchen most of the time, and he no longer felt the urge to assist - at least, not to avert any inevitable disasters.

Now he felt that he wasn't doing enough though. Granted, he was earning their money, but Usagi had her studies to do as well, and she did put herself out to make sure she was playing the role of the 'dutiful wife' to the best of her ability. Mamoru was a modern man after all, and he did actually enjoy cooking for the two of them, so he had almost needed to fight to be able to do so every few days. He was flattered that she was so eager, and he hoped she realised how much he appreciated it, even if it didn't seem quite so necessary to him.

But, that evening, Usagi hadn't put up as much of a fight when he had insisted that he cook for them. He hadn't thought much of it at first, he had been too tired after his commute to the research institute, but as she had eaten, and indeed as she now washed the dishes, she did not seem to have her usual bounce to her.

"Usa-ko," he said, wrapping his arms around her as she slowly wiped the plates.

Usagi closed her eyes and smiled, leaning back into his chest. She let the plate slip from her fingers and back into the soapy water. "Mamoru..."

Mamoru smiled and kissed the crown of her hair, neatly between her dumpling-tails. "Anything on your mind?"

Usagi 'hmm'ed, and picked the plate back up, allowing Mamoru to support her. "Maybe just a few things," she admitted. "I'm glad the exams are over, but I don't think I did very well."

Mamoru chuckled a little. "That's not what I heard from Rei-chan. She said you all seemed to have done pretty well, considering."

"I hope so," Usagi agreed, "but we won't know for a while."

"And?" Mamoru prodded. "I know the exam-anxious you Usa-ko, and that's not it"

"Ohhh, you do?" Usagi lilted, wiggling in his arms. Then she sighed. "I guess. You remember those youma?"

Mamoru nodded in realisation. "Ah, I see."

"I was just thinking," Usagi went on. "What really happened to the Dark Kingdom? I don't even remember what I did. I just know that I wanted them to be gone, and I wanted everything back the way it was. And it happened. We all forgot each other, forgot abut being the Sailor Senshi, everything. So what did I do to them? Are they here for revenge? Are Queen Beryl and Metallia back, like nothing happened?"

"I don't think so," Mamoru said, stroking at Usagi's stomach to comfort her. "That youma said that we killed her Queen, and her Goddess. I don't think that Beryl or Metallia will be coming back."

Usagi nodded. "I was kind of hoping they were alive, just not hurting anyone anymore. Maybe the Silver Crystal could have helped them like that."

"Who can say?" Mamoru replied. Maybe a little pragmatism might help as well. "I think it is probably better this way though. They can't hurt anyone, not even their own people."

Usagi didn't like it, but it was true. "So what about that new youma? I was hoping we could catch her, but it's been two weeks. She could have done a lot already. I don't like to think what she might be preparing for Tokyo. And there were two of them. What if there are more?"

"Then there are more," Mamoru answered. "We can only do so much Usa-ko. When the time comes, we just have to be ready."

Usagi nodded, and placed the last of the plates on the draining board. Then, with a gentle smile on her face, she turned around and buried her head against Mamoru's chest, her wet hands making his shirt damp as she held him. "Mamo-chan," she said quietly, "I am trustworthy, aren't I?"

That had come from nowhere, but Mamoru could see why. The other girls had all had their strange little moments recently. If he had noticed, then surely Usagi was finding herself lost in the thick of it. "I trust you with my life. You've saved it often enough!" he joked, before becoming more serious. "The others do too. All of them. I'm sure it has all just been a lot to take in for them. Being banished by that harpy witch, fighting through in that feudal world, and now the exams and the news people."

He broke their embrace and smiled down into Usagi's grateful eyes. "Now that the holidays are here I'm sure they can settle in properly."

Usagi nodded, feeling much better than she had. It was times like that which left her yearning for more than just an engagement ring on her finger.

"Mamoru," she said with a contented hope in her voice, laying a light kiss on his lips, "maybe we could go to bed early tonight?"

---

Haruka slipped her key into the lock as carefully as she could, and turned it with barely a click. A ghost of a smile lingered on her lips as she slipped into the house. She took great care not to disturb her family, but her happy fuzz let the door close a little more loudly than she had hoped. Still, there was no harm done.

And maybe she had averted some as well. It had been so nice to see Ami laugh again. Two weeks ago, calling in the middle of the night, she had become an absolute wreck when Haruka had finally met with her in the lamp-lit park. How it had happened Haruka did not know, but Ami had needed someone to be there for her, and she had chosen Haruka. It had felt so good, to be trusted like that, even if she knew that she had not been Ami's first choice. But still, she had done what she could. She had listened, she had learned, and had comforted and commiserated, and slowly Ami had come out of the shell that Haruka had not even known the girl had built. So yes, no harm at all.

No harm apart from Michiru as she stood in the hallway. Suddenly Haruka felt guilty for it. Worse, Michiru had a darkly blank look on her face, and she held a pair of scissors tightly in her right hand. "Another late night rendezvous, Haruka?" Michiru asked. Normally she would have sounded amused and teasing, but this once there was little humour in her voice.

Haruka tried to flash her a disarming smile, but that trace of guilt caused it to falter slightly. Maybe she should have told Michiru about it, even if it was harmless. "Michiru, honestly..."

"You didn't just go for a drive, Haruka," Michiru said, matter-of-fact as she stalked towards her lover. "I can check the milometer, and it won't nearly have gone far enough, will it?"

Haruka didn't even answer that. Michiru just closed the gap between them, scissors in hand. "This is the sixth time in a fortnight."

Haruka almost found herself backing to the door as Michiru reached her, Michiru slipping one hand around her waist while the scissors in the other stroked at the bangs that fell across Haruka's right temple. "I just want the truth. Please." She smiled up at her lover, and tapped her on the head with the closed instrument. "What am I supposed to think? Come on, I said I would cut that hair of yours."

Haruka finally let out the breath she had been holding, a relieved grin forcing its way onto her lips. What had she been thinking there? Mind you, Michiru had cut a surprisingly menacing figure just then. "Whew. I'd forgotten about that," she said, as she was lead to the bathroom.

It was a minor hobby of Michiru's, keeping Haruka's hair in trim. When she had returned Michiru had been surprised to find that Haruka had let it grow out so much. The fact that Minako and Ami had also come back with new hairstyles might have been the only reason, because Haruka had complained about it constantly now that she was home. Michiru had tried to convince her to keep it long, and maybe even let it grow out properly, but Haruka had stood fast. It looked surprisingly good, but it did take the edge off Haruka's boyish appearance, and as usual that was enough for Haruka to want it gone. Haruka did not have a good body image at the best of times, so Michiru had relented, but she did at least take a few photos to remember it by.

And now Haruka had forgotten about it?

"So..." Michiru asked as she sat Haruka down, "will you tell me?"

Haruka felt the comb going through her overly long hair, and the slicing of the scissors as Michiru started her amateur work. "It was Ami-chan that called. She's... been having a very hard time."

Michiru hadn't know what to expect, but that had not been it. "Her mother?"

"Partly," Haruka admitted. "It's lots of things. Having to keep secrets, having to remember things, trying to forget things. She just needed a friend."

Exactly what some of those secrets had been Haruka didn't try to think about. She found herself trying to fight back a glow of gratitude at the words Ami had used. Words that Haruka couldn't let herself return.

"She couldn't confide in the others?" Michiru asked, not out of any resentment, but out of simple confusion. What could she have wanted to talk about that she couldn't say to Usagi or Makoto?

Haruka shook her head, making Michiru hold her steady before she continued cutting. "They... seem to have their own problems," Haruka said. "Or she doesn't want to worry them. You know about Rei-chan and Mako-chan. Don't you?"

Michiru smiled at that. "Usagi-chan told me." With her universal appeal Haruka might not have needed the ability, but Michiru had been sure that there had always been a little bisexual curiosity in Rei.

"That's why Ami-chan says she can't tell them. They are happy, and Makoto is helping Rei-chan with her own problems," Haruka explained. She knew that Michiru still remembered the incident with the escaping youma.

"Is it really that bad?" Michiru asked. Rei's actions had worried her greatly, both for the sake of their mission and for their safety. "Turn your head."

"I think so," Haruka said, doing as she was told. "I just promised I wouldn't say what happened to them. It's hard enough on them as it is."

Michiru nodded as she finished trimming Haruka's fringe. "Poor Ami-chan. There," she handed Haruka a hand mirror, "what do you think?"

Haruka smiled as she looked into the mirrors. Her hair was back in its proper place, cut short into her neck and no longer getting into her eyes or tickling her cheeks. That was more like the Haruka she wanted to be. "Better."

"You know, I'm glad you were there to help her," Michiru said, turning Haruka around to look at her. "Next time, just tell me." She smiled, her voice softening. "I am trustworthy, aren't I?"

Unbeknownst to both of them, those words that Usagi had spoken only a few hours before were filled with that girl's same honest, innocent hope. An innocent hope that Michiru thought sounded very unlike her.

And one which cut Haruka to the bone. The boyish blonde just stood there, staring at her lover as tears began to well up in her eyes. She didn't know what she was doing. Suddenly her emotions were no longer hers to control. What had she done...

Michiru didn't even have time to voice her sudden concern. In a fraction of a second Haruka took her in her arms, and locked them together in a deep, soulful embrace. Haruka's deep and grieving kiss took Michiru's breath away as Haruka, from nowhere, drowned her with every drop of passion she could muster.

Even before they could stagger from the room Haruka was burying her guilt in Michiru's body, her hands roaming beneath her lover's clothes and across her skin as she desperately tried to show the depths of the love she felt for her, and atone for what she had done. Michiru could only be swept along. Where had this Haruka come from? Here was the strength and the forceful desire that had been missing from her lover's touch, now suddenly pouring from her in one tearful burst. Michiru simply melted into that strength, and yet inside her head she cried as deeply as her wounded partner did. Because, even in the heat of that sudden, tumultuous sex, she could feel how deep those wounds were.

'My God Haruka, what happened to you?'

---

Makoto gave a glance towards her boss. The old man was chatting with their clientele again, filling in the dead time. It was typical she supposed. He slaved on without her for two months, and now he had so little to do that he was calling it his vacation time! Still, Makoto did think that he deserved a holiday, even if all he did was sit behind the counter and talk to their regular customers.

Matsubashi-san was a second generation noodle chef, and probably enjoyed his own cooking a little too much if his heavy build was any indication. He was also a consummate drinker, and even as he entered his sixth decade neither his nephews nor Makoto met with any luck in getting him to moderate that vice. As far as he was concerned it was no less healthy than anything else, though his doctor would have disagreed if he ever actually went to see him.

However, Matsubashi was not the jovial type that his habits might have suggested. Instead he had a mature, quiet confidence that a person could not help but respect, even if it came from a lowly noodle shop owner. He made simple, observant conversation, and his customers went away feeling that, at least for that one meal, their corner of the world made that little bit more sense.

Makoto thought that he might have made a better priest than Grandpa Hino at times, not that she would have told Rei that.

And once again she was thinking about Rei. That was happening so much nowadays. She had to wonder what the beautiful shrine maiden was doing. With their exams over everyone except Minako and herself would have nothing but free time until the next semester started, though Rei would still be helping out at the shrine. Plus the media fuss over them had died back now, which relieved Makoto no end. She had been tired of hiding at the back of the small shop with her pans to avoid the reporters. Granted, it had been good for business, but it had really put her on edge.

So, she thought guiltily, it was probably about time that she made good on her promise. She owed Rei a date. The thought made her flush, and she had to turn her mind back to her pan to make sure she didn't spill the stir-fried vegetables. She idly dashed in a little more sauce, just for the tang. This customer liked his food tasty.

Rei. Makoto couldn't help it. The idea of a real, classical date with her put that veil of romantic stupor over Makoto's eyes. A sweetly saccharine film, a fancy dinner in an expensive restaurant somewhere, a strawberry kiss goodnight. Or perhaps even more.

No, Makoto knew she was pushing her luck there. Rei was so cute and so... girlish, for lack of a better word, but as close and affectionate as she was it was clear that she still had limits. It was a little disappointing, Makoto could admit that. For one night in Seiji Rei had laid with her, bosom to bosom beneath the same blanket. Even if they had just slept and done nothing more, Makoto's world had been rocked.

Rei had proved she was willing then, but she had also admitted that she wasn't ready for anything further yet. Fooling around with another girl in a drunken college stupor and actually making love to another woman were two very different things.

On Makoto's part she knew without a shadow of a doubt. She wished that she still had her virginity, if only so that she could have given it to Rei. The few relationships in the past that had progressed that far were the ones that Makoto most wanted to forget. The ones where she made such a fool of herself, and became so attached, only to lose it soon after they had supposedly proved their worth to each other.

Maybe Makoto was still naive, despite her many failures, but she did want to be with Rei, physically. She was only reserved with her affections because she didn't want this one to go wrong. She didn't want to chase Rei away. Makoto had never been intimate with another girl before, and she didn't want to make any mistakes.

Likewise, she didn't want Rei to be persecuted for her sake. Makoto had no illusions about that. There were already many people who would look at the pair of them as though they had contracted some sort of dread social disease just because they walked hand in hand down the road. As far as those people seemed to be concerned the idea of two women passing as a couple was best left to loose, experimental schoolgirls and only otherwise there to fulfil the fantasies of unscrupulous men. How Haruka and Michiru coped with that, leading such relatively high profile lives, Makoto could only guess at. It made her feel bad as it was, and even worse because it was directed at Rei as well.

Rei put up a good front though. She was resilient beyond compare, as if it never once phased her. Makoto found herself admiring that. Rei's flippant cockiness in the face of adversity just seemed cute, and beneath it lay a great deal of willpower. Even against an honest to goodness demon, Rei had not broken. She had fought, in the face of great pain, grief and doubt, and she had won. Makoto was proud to have been there to see her girlfriend through that trial, and in doing so find out a little about who Rei really was. A person, it turned out, that Makoto had come to cherish deeply.

"Hello cutie, how about an early lunch for a beautiful girl?"

Makoto almost dropped her pan as she was dishing out the food. "Rei?"

"Heh heh, who were you expecting?" Rei replied, sitting on the stool behind her, her chin resting on her hands and watching Makoto work with a quiet air of contentment.

Beside her Usagi giggled at the pair. "That was naughty Rei-chan. Mmmm, that smells delicious though. I'll have one of those!"

Makoto nodded, smiling from ear to ear. "Coming right up."

"I thought you said you were having trouble," Usagi said as Makoto served the gentleman a few seats down from her. "You seem to be busy enough. It's not even lunch-rush time yet.

"True," Makoto admitted, "but you two will be carrying us through until then." She motioned to the mobile food stand just opposite them, sitting at the corner of the road that led away into central Tokyo. It had several people lined up for food already. "That wench over there," she said with a moderated distaste, "seems intent on stealing all the casual customers."

"And with American food to boot," Matsubashi said from down the counter, with the same disgruntled note. He sighed, "As if we need more hot dogs and burgers around here..."

Rei smiled as the two regulars made their noises of agreement, "I guess you find out who your real patrons are."

Usagi just shrugged. "I don't know, I like burgers. Not that I'd ever choose them over Mako-chan's food, unless she was the one making them."

Makoto chuckled as she threw some more vegetables into her pan for her friends. "Thanks Usagi-chan."

---

Michiru stared up at the ceiling above her bed. Their bed. That last night had been amazing, but she wanted to scream. She couldn't wait for the answers any more, certainly not after what she had just seen and experienced, but still she lay there, listening to the feet that paced in the living room or the muffled sobs as her girlfriend sat down on one of the settees again. Michiru wanted to go, but she was afraid. Terrified even. This was no longer a simple shadow of Haruka's time away. It had travelled with her, lying dormant in Haruka's mind until it could no longer be contained. Michiru dared not ask, because whatever it was, she knew now that it would hurt them both.

But Haruka was already hurting. It was almost mechanical as Michiru swung her legs out from beneath the covers, and staggered to her feet. Even this late into the morning, the exertions of the night before glowed throughout her body. That only made it more difficult as she pulled on a robe.

She padded out quietly, one hand tracing the wall beside her. It was only a psychological support, but that touch of paper and paint beneath her fingers was the proof she needed that she was still moving, and not simply looking on. Haruka sat on the settee with her back to the hallway. She sat hunched, her mouth hidden in her hands and her elbows resting unsteadily on her knees. Michiru barely recognised her. Her Haruka had become so confident and self-possessed. Where was all that now?

"Haruka?"

Haruka almost fell off the chair, and instead used that stumble to push herself to her feet. "M-Michiru..." As soon as their eyes met Haruka's tears began to roll down her cheeks again. Michiru didn't even get a chance to speak as Haruka grabbed her, enveloping the fearful artist in her long arms.

"I love you Michiru. I love you so much. You know that. I... Tell me you know that."

Michiru shivered in Haruka's arms. Yes, that was terror, she realised. Haruka said it so rarely, and with such deep sincerity, that when she did it meant so very much. "I know, Haruka. Of course I know. Just please, tell me what it is." She took Haruka's head in her hands, guiding it to her shoulder. Haruka was taller than her, but she just melted into Michiru's touch.

"I'm sorry," Haruka sobbed. "I was all my fault. I couldn't take it every night, missing you. I couldn't... I wasn't faithful to you."

Michiru's fingers froze. "W-what?" Haruka couldn't have said that. How? It was a logical impossibility. Michiru hadn't had any idea what might have been torturing her lover, but that thought hadn't even entered into her mind. They had each other. That was the way it was. No past girlfriends had ever even approached what she had found in Haruka. And for Haruka there had only ever been Michiru.

Until now? 'Oh God...'

Haruka was holding her tightly, but Michiru forced them apart. She held her lover's arms and looked deeply into those sorrowful eyes. "That... That doesn't..."

It didn't make any sense.

"I was all alone there," Haruka said. For some inexplicable reason a small smile blossomed on her lips as she finally admitted it. "I missed you every night. Every day. Then I found the warlocks, and suddenly I didn't have any secrets left. They knew me. They saw into me. They saw everything I only ever told you, even if they didn't know what it meant. And the power they gave me, it just made me sick, because I was foolish. I've always been so stupid, and I never knew. I had to protect them, and I felt so powerless."

Michiru heard her, but it wasn't what she wanted to know. Actually, she didn't want to know, but it was the only thing that seemed important inside her numb mind. "... Who was it?"

Haruka felt herself swallowing hard. "She... As soon as we got back together, she was trying to help me. I don't think she knew it, but she was. Those little 'thank you's, and smiles - and she tried to make me feel welcome, even after everything we had done to them."

Michiru could understand that sentiment. Usagi had done the same for her in forgiving her for their wasted and heartless efforts against Galaxia. But, "I waited... I thought you were dead, but I couldn't give up. I couldn't leave you, even then. I would rather have been alone..."

Those words hurt for Haruka. "I knew you were alive," she said. "You had to be. You were all that kept me going for so long."

"But I wasn't enough." It wasn't a question, or even an accusation. It was just a fact.

"I wanted her," Haruka finally said. "After everything, I didn't know how much more I could take. I found myself wanting her so badly, but I knew it was impossible. Then she came to me. Ami-chan did."

The pair of them stood rigid in the wake of that name. Michiru could barely believe it, but the look in Haruka's eyes proved it. She felt a slow squeezing in her chest. Michiru had always got on well with Ami. During all the awkwardness after Galaxia they had been among the first to start bridging the gap towards friendship. How could that nice girl have seduced Haruka away from her? How could Haruka have seduced quiet and considerate Ami? Why hadn't Michiru been enough?

She felt a stinging in her hand, and she opened her eyes to see Haruka's reddened cheek. It hadn't brought her any catharsis though, as Haruka stood with her eyes closed and her head bowed in remorse.

Michiru slapped her again. And again, and again. With each hit she hoped that somehow it would reset the world, and turn this painful knowledge into nothing more than a dream. But Haruka still stood there, looking so apologetic. Why couldn't she look smug, or callous or angry, or anything that would justify the hurt in Michiru's breast.

"I-It was just the one time," Haruka continued, expecting another hit at any time as she admitted the worst of it. "She... she didn't want to take me away from you, and I would never go. But it all got messed up..."

"So you went back to her," Michiru cut in, remembering what Haruka had said the night before. "You've been going out to see her, even while you're with me."

The look of betrayal on Michiru's face was more than Haruka could bear. "No! That's not it. I... I wouldn't do that. You know I wouldn't!"

Michiru just looked at her, her eyes burning but too exhausted to scream. "I thought I knew."

"I was telling the truth Michiru! She needs someone to help her. She had to remember all the painful things that she's lived through, and it's so hard for her to put them all back now. And somehow, she couldn't put her feeling back either. We both needed it then, but she doesn't have anyone to come back to."

Michiru knew what Haruka meant by that. Ami loved her. "Lots of girls fall for you. Boys too, not that you try with them."

But Haruka shook her head. "Not her. She means it."

"And what about you?"

Haruka looked at her in disbelief. "She... she knows it won't change anything. She knew that when we..." Haruka left that sentence unfinished, but Michiru just stared back dispassionately.

"What about -you-, Haruka?"

Haruka couldn't help her tears. It seemed to take an age for her to find the courage to answer. "She means a lot to me."

Michiru just let her head fall forward onto Haruka's breast as her dam burst the tears flowed out in torrent down her cheeks. "Damn you!"

Haruka wanted to hold her so badly, but she was afraid to even move. "It... it doesn't..."

"Don't say it!" Michiru cried. "Just go! Get out! I can't... I can't cope with this!"

When Haruka stepped back Michiru wanted to grab hold of her, and wanted her to say it was all alright. But even that would just have made her angrier. She didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to hear anything.

It seemed like no time at all before the front door clicked shut, and Michiru's head jerked up to see Haruka's silhouette walking slowly to the garage. "I didn't even get a chance to fight for you," she whispered.

Then, from behind her, a small, quivering voice broke the quiet. "Mama?"

Hotaru stood there in her adorable red and white dress, confusion written across her face. Who knew how much she had heard, or what she thought it meant? She was such a sensitive teenager, and yet it was her who took Michiru in her arms and sat her down, the pair of them crying as they held each other. Hotaru didn't even know why she was crying so hard. She had seen her parents fight before, but this had been different. She wanted her surrogate father there with them, if only to be a full family in their tears.

It just wasn't fair.

---

Ami cleaned up her dishes with a small smile tugging at the edges of her lips. The last week had been good. Putting her head back together was hard, and in particular the memories of her parents' divorce still haunted her. Her stupid father, just leaving them out of the blue one day; at least that was how it had seemed to her as a child. That had been a useful memory, back when anger and pain had been the fuel that kept her safe, but little by little the old hurts were being filed away where they belonged. She knew she would never truly be rid of those memories, but why would she want to be? They had made her who she was, and once again she could honestly say that she liked that person that she saw in the mirror. Mostly.

It had taken time, but she had told Haruka everything. She doubted that she had ever felt more embarrassed or guilty in her life, pouring out all her troubles onto the young woman who was, when it came down to it, the source of some of them. That had been hard. Telling Haruka that, despite her best efforts, Ami had in fact fallen in love with her, and knowing full well that there was nothing Haruka could do about it. But that didn't matter. Ami just needed to say it. The fact that it was to Haruka herself actually made it easier now. She had felt horrible about it, as thought she was guilt tripping the young woman she cared for, but now that it was out they could just get on with talking.

They had talked about everything. From the ghosts of Ami's childhood to the latest fashions in art and music - it didn't matter what it was, as long as Ami could let her thoughts tumble out freely. She had even ended up giggling like a schoolgirl again, just talking about their time in Seiji. How she could laugh at it now she did not know, but somehow, in hindsight, some of those stories had seemed funny.

A knock roused Ami from her thoughts, and she realised that she had been standing just watching her dinner things drain. She put her comfortable musings aside and let her rational mind take control, where it belonged. Idly she wondered whether it was Haruka at the door, and she shook her head. How silly that seemed.

The trouble was, she had been right. Haruka looked terrible. She stood on the apartment walkway with her hair sitting like some kind of messy thatch on her head. Her eyes looked tired and red, but most obvious to Ami was the lack of humour on her lips. Even in her worst moments Haruka tried to pull a smile, and made some kind of flippant remark, even if she was her own target. This time, however, those lips lay flat.

"H-Haruka-san?" Ami said, instantly worried. "What's wrong? You didn't drive here like that did you? Please, come in."

Haruka nodded in thanks and stepped inside, then closed the door behind herself. Then, as Ami turned to lead Haruka inside, she felt the older girl's touch rough against her arm, and she was pulled into a kiss that tore her senses from her. What was Haruka doing? Oh, this was a dream, she thought, as she felt herself returning that raging passion. Her back hit the wall and she felt Haruka press her hands back up, their fingers lacing themselves together.

But Haruka had never been so forceful in her dreams. Never so despairing. Ami's eyes flew open, moist with the realisation of what was happening. She turned her head away, breaking their lips apart in spite of her inner selfishness. It was what she wanted, and she was being given it freely. But how could she ever accept it?

"Haruka, please, don't do this!"

And Haruka stopped. She just stood there like a statue, their bodies pressed together, and she let her head hit the wall, tears coursing down her face.

"Don't let me have this," Ami repeated gently, easing her hands away from Haruka's touch against the paper.

"She knows." Haruka's voice sounded so empty.

Ami swallowed hard as she heard that. "What happened?"

Haruka just sighed, her eyes clamped shut. "She looked so... I never wanted to do that to her. I had to tell her everything. She deserved that much. I told her about what we did... and about what you told me, and that you mean something to me."

Ami took Haruka's head in her hands, and guided her from the wall. "Thank you," she said. What else could she say? Hearing that she had felt her heart flutter, and even knowing that nothing could come of it, it had felt good. "You can go back, can't you?"

Haruka just stood for a moment before she nodded. "I think so." She let out a dry laugh. A laugh directed at herself. "I'm going back, if only for Hotaru's sake. But I love her. I know she loves me. It's my fault, after all. I just have to hope she can forgive me."

Ami nodded, taking them both to the living room and sitting down on the couch. "She will. It might take time, but I know how much she loves you too. She's very lucky."

Haruka nodded, but didn't say a word. She knew it. She just hoped that their luck would hold out. "I'm sorry, Ami. About that."

Ami shook her head. "Don't be. At least I could kiss you one more time. I hope we can still talk after this."

"I hope so too."

But they both knew that Michiru's wishes would have to come first there. She had a very good reason not to want them to see each other, and neither Ami nor Haruka could go against that. Not with a clean conscience.

"Well," Ami said, "just in case, I want to say thank you. For everything. You were there when I needed you. I needed that a lot, on both occasions."

Haruka nodded, giving her a weak smile. "Likewise."

So they talked, making the most of that evening. They talked about everything, once again, until tiredness overtook them, and they lay sleeping in their clothes, resting against each other on the leather couch. At least Haruka didn't have to drive home.

---

"Ami-chan!" Usagi called, standing outside the girl's apartment. She pressed the doorbell again. It wasn't like Ami to be late, she thought. The rest of them, sure, but not Ami.

Minako shrugged. "Maybe she's not feeling well," she ventured.

Usagi looked pensive at the thought. "But she's seemed to feel better recently," she said. "And she would have told us if she was, wouldn't she?"

Minako nodded. It was true. It hadn't taken the pair of them long to convince their long time friend to go out shopping with them. Ami had been feeling more like company, and even she enjoyed a little retail therapy every now and gain.

When she did finally open the door the pair were surprised to see just how dishevelled she looked. Had she only just got out of bed? Ami smiled at them and ushered them inside, before she excused herself so that she could make herself look more presentable.

To Usagi it was obvious that Ami was putting up a front, but despite her best intentions she chose not to pry. That was her policy now, she had to tell herself. She was concerned of course, but these days she tried to give her friends a little more credit when it came to their personal lives. No more sneaking around in disguise on their dates for example, no matter how much fun it was. She would get the gossip eventually, when they chose to share it, and she wouldn't have to get shouted at for butting in when she was inevitably found out.

The same was true here. Ami was the most private of them all, and even Usagi had, in the past, said the wrong thing at the wrong time, not realising that she didn't have the whole story.

When Ami did appear again she looked much more like herself. "I'm sorry, I just had a difficult night. Come on, let's go shopping!"

That was what Usagi and Minako had wanted to hear. "Right!" Minako agreed as they left. "Let's blow some money, superstar style!"

"Ahh, maybe not that much Minako-chan," Usagi said, apprehensive at her sudden enthusiasm. "I can't spend all of Mamo-chan's money this time!"

That was another facet of the story that Usagi was a little hazy on. Both Makoto and Minako knew more than they were letting on, and while she could understand Makoto's more reserved nature Minako had never been one to keep gossip to herself. She thrived on it. The pair of them had been partners in crime on many a date, watching from the shadows or wondering about their friends until they had wrapped themselves up in their own intricate little fantasy world. She knew Minako was mature beyond her appearance, but that had never stopped her being free with her information.

Minako had filled her in on a lot of little secrets about their time away. How she had wanted to give up for example. How Makoto had taken to wandering around with too few clothes, and how Ami had become a samurai of sorts. Even how she had approached Haruka.

But there were a few gaps. A few little bits of story that didn't quite slot together, and not just because of Minako's flighty narratives.

But she didn't let it worry her too much. The three of them were having too much fun, and Ami had seemed to leave her cares behind her, at least for the moment, as they wandered through the shopping districts, slowly collecting bags. Ami had been persuaded to buy a new, more daring swimming suit, even it was still more conservative that most of Minako's collection! They all had at least one new dress or blouse each, and Minako seemed to be slowing down under the weight of all her clothes as their stomach began to rumble.

"Wha..?" Usagi exclaimed as her tummy joined in the choir. "We missed lunch time! This is an emergency!"

The café they found was small, but they had cake available for dessert, so as far as the girls were concerned it was perfect. "Don't blush Ami-chan," Minako ribbed as they talked over their meal. "You'll turn everyone's heads with that thing!" She of course meant the bikini that she and Usagi had almost bullied Ami into getting.

"That's what I mean!" Ami defended. In truth even she had to admit that she liked it, but it showed off a lot more of herself than she was used to.

On the other hand both Ami and Minako were more than eager to see Usagi again in her new dinner dress. That had been stunning as the girl had showed it off to them in the changing rooms, and given the price it had been the only real piece of clothing Usagi had allowed herself. It was a burgundy strapless one which billowed elegantly from the girl's hips, slightly old fashioned, but which would be saved for the most posh of occasions. She hadn't had the courage to buy something classy like that since their high school dance. With a few decorations pinned around the bust, and some nice jewellery to finish the look, it would be worn to every wedding she could get herself invited to!

Then, out of the corner of her eyes, Usagi saw her. She got to her feet and waved. "Michiru-san!"

Usagi was too busy calling her older friend over, but Minako could see the sudden stiffness in Ami as the girl got to her feet. Likewise, as Michiru came over Usagi's smile slipped a little as she saw how tense and tired Michiru seemed to be. "Michiru-san, are you okay?"

Michiru didn't answer. Instead she didn't even stop before she lashed out, and slapped Ami so hard that the girl staggered back against her chair.

"Michiru-san!" Usagi and Minako exclaimed, but Michiru just stood there as somewhere off to her left she heard the click of a camera. She turned her gaze towards the amateur photographer, and her glare bore into him so hard that that man bolted, not even thinking to stay for the rest of the scene.

Ami however, just stood against her chair, her cheek burning and her eyes watering as she stared at her half-finished plate. This had been the last thing she had wanted. Michiru was her friend.

Michiru turned back to her to see the girl genius standing in shock, just as her slap had left her. She felt a pang of guilt, but against the sudden boiling in her veins all it did was to stay her hand, her self restraint slowly returning to her after that vengeful impulse. "Why?"

Ami just stood there, afraid to look Michiru in the eyes. "I... needed her."

"I didn't think you were capable of something like this," Michiru accused. Her words seemed tired though. She had thought too long, and her conclusions had long been made now. She shouldn't have hit the girl, although she had more than deserved it.

"I didn't think so either," Ami replied. She looked up to see Michiru's hurt gaze. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it."

Michiru shook he head. "I won't let her go Ami-san. Not even for you."

And with that Michuri turned and left, leaving Usagi staring dumbly after her. Minako tried to reach out for Ami's hand, but Ami didn't want to be there. She didn't want to answer Usagi's questions. She didn't want to be seen by her most innocently trusting friend as someone like that. Even if it was true. She just walked away, leaving everything at the table, and as Minako and Usagi called after her that walk became a tearful run.

"W-what happened?" Usagi stammered, watching as Ami left, Michiru now long gone. Her eyes felt the itch of sympathetic tears for both of her friends. "What did Ami-chan do?"

She thought she knew already of course. There was only so much interpretation that could be made after hearing what they had said to each other. Usagi just couldn't believe it. She didn't want to. None of it made any sense to her.

Minako just sighed, and picked up a few of Ami's bags, leaving the rest for Usagi to carry. The two of them had practically finished eating after all, and this had gone on for too long, and gone too far. So, once they were alone at Usagi's apartment, Minako told her.

Even if just confirmed her unwanted suspicions, it still took quite a while for Usagi to accept it as true. Even from Minako.

---

Mizuno Katsura looked at her map again. She rarely admitted it to people, but she had a very poor sense of direction. So much so that she had been fashionably late for her own wedding, at a time when fashionably late was more than looked down upon in Japan. As such she had become rather proficient at reading maps, and had even turned her hand to a little amateur cartography during her meagre spare time as she had studied for her doctorate.

It had taken her a long time to find the address she had needed, so she could mark it on her map print-out. One of several addresses in fact, but any one would do. She didn't put it past herself to repeat the same thing as soon as she got home from work the following day, depending on what she heard tonight. It occurred to her that she should have called ahead, but she was too conscientious to try and find her mobile phone while she was driving.

Reaching the right road she started looking for the house number, but she needn't have bothered. There, skipping away from her front door, Minako gave her parents a wave. Thankfully both she and Katsura had good brakes, or else the good doctor might have ended up treating one of her own victims that night.

Minako wobbled at the curb-side and lifted her hand in apology before she recognised who was inside. "Mizuno-sensei?"

Katsura gave her a small wave and pulled up. "Minako-chan, you are heading out late tonight." Late being relative, she added to herself. It had not been dark for very long.

"Not -that- late," Minako confirmed. "We're going out for some research!"

"Oh?" That sounded like quite the excuse, coming from a young woman rather than a little girl. "Just don't cause too much trouble. I know what you and Usagi-chan used to get up to!"

Minako flushed a little in embarrassment. "Yes Ma'am." Then, before she went on her way she turned back to Katsura. "Umm, I'm sorry about today. Could you tell Ami-chan we love her?"

Katsura nodded. That girl had hit the problem right on the head. "Thank you, Minako-chan. I will."

Minako nodded, glad to hear that, before she went to meet up with the rest of her friends. Katsura just watched the girl jog off before she walked her way up the short front path and rang on the Ainos' doorbell.

"Good evening," Kikon greeted as she answered the door. "Can I help you?"

"Hello Aino-san," Katsura said, bowing slightly. "I believe we met at Minako-chan's eighteenth birthday celebrations. I am Ami's mother."

The little lights clicked on in Kikon's eyes and she returned Kamtsura's bow. "Oh, my apologies Mizuno-sensei. Please come in."

"I didn't recognise you, it has been such a long time," Kikon said as she led her guest through to the living room. "Would you like anything to drink?"

Katsura shook her head. "No thank you." Then, on second thoughts, "Actually, I'm sorry, could I have a coffee?"

"Certainly." Then she turned into the house proper. "Yokozuki, we have a guest!"

Minako's father soon emerged from his study. "Ah," he said, trying to place her face, and having better success than his wife, "Ami-chan's mother, yes? The doctor?"

Katsura nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you again, Aino-san," she said as they bowed to each other. "I apologise for coming around uninvited, but given our daughters' shared incident I needed to speak with you."

Yokozuki looked concerned at that. "Has Minako done something?"

Katsura shook her head as she accepted her drink from her hostess. "No. At least, I hope not. This is... about Ami. Can I speak in confidence, Aino-san?"

"Certainly," Yokozuki replied, looking serious. "Ami-chan and our Minako have been close friends for more than long enough."

"Is Ami-chan okay?" Kikon asked, mirroring her husband's sentiments.

"She is unwell at present," Katsura answered, her voice soft and worried. "She had seemed to be recovering, but today... I came home to find her in tears again. Please, if Minako has given any indication of anything that might have happened while she was... away, that might have caused this. I hate to say it, but I am fearing for her state of mind now."

That was quite an admission for anyone to make, especially to people that Katsura had not spoken with in several years. Both the Ainos knew it, and that weight came across in their replies.

"I'm afraid not," Kikon said after that moment of silence. "I am sorry for Ami-chan's condition, but if there is anything more than she told on the television, she has not told us."

"Not told us," Yokozuki interrupted, "but I have my own worries."

Kikon looked at her husband in shock. "Dear, no, not this again."

Katsura looked between them. "Please," she insisted. "Anything at all she might have said."

Yokozuki shook his head. "She does not tell us, but there are things. Small things. So many, that I cannot help but wonder."

Kikon looked down at her hands. "Yokozuki, this is ridiculous. Please, don't trouble her further..."

Her husband didn't let her finish. "I know I am not much of a father," he said, "you tell Minako as much often enough, but you know I am right."

"Then why can't you be more supportive of her!" Kikon countered. "You have not given her a single word of encouragement since she was in middle school!"

Yokozuki closed his eyes when he heard that. The worst part was it was true. "She needs to leave her fantasies behind. She needs to see the truth. She has to want it enough to fight for it!"

Katsura sat uncomfortably as her hosts argued, but she did not excuse herself.

Yokozuki finally made his point. "Lots of little things, Mizuno-sensei, that put together, make something very large. I know you will not believe me, because I do not believe the conclusion myself, no matter how I try. Take tonight for example. You saw our daughter leave?"

Katsura nodded.

"She has done that on and off for the last six years. Even when she had nowhere to go. She will make her excuses to leave at the strangest times. We know that Usagi-chan used to do the same," he said with a smile. "We used to speak with the Tsukinos often, back when she was living at home." He sighed. "I do wonder when Minako will decide to move out, but I am glad to have her here. At least that way we know she is safe when she comes back from these 'researches' they all go on.

"When Ami-chan came back, she brought things, didn't she? Things that worried you?"

Katsura forced herself to think about that as she tried to follow the Aino patriarch's thread. "She had some armour, in her bag. They had to fight there."

Yokozuki nodded. "They were warriors. Minako brought home a pair of swords. She also brought home memories that keep her up at night. I would not be surprised if they had to fight harder than she admitted to those damnable reporters. Perhaps for their lives, and with lethal force."

Katsura blanched at that. She had known it had been a possibility, but to have someone else share the idea that her daughter had been attacked with intent, and even forced to reply in kind, was something else entirely.

"But it would not surprise me if she had managed capably," Yokozuki continued. "Minako would most often disappear when stories of monsters and the unexplained were prevalent in the news. And when we came back to Japan from England, Sailor V seemed to have the same itinerary as we did."

Katsura looked at him aghast. "You don't mean..."

"I didn't make the connection for several years," Yokozuki explained, while her wife put her head in her hands.

"Yokozuki, don't!"

"You can see it too dear," he said, as if he thought it would comfort her. He turned back to Katsura. "I don't believe it. The idea that Minako could be one of those ridiculous heroines is preposterous, and yet all the leads should make it seem so obvious. I know Minako is not a... normal girl. Hell, she has midnight conversations with her cat, and that animal even seems to speak back."

He gave a somewhat haunted chuckle. "I have even gone so far as to try and coax words from it myself. But maybe the reason I cannot believe it is true, in spite of all the coincidence, is because I am not meant to. Perhaps not all the magic the Sailor Senshi wield is for combat. Can you imagine what it might mean if a superhero's parents knew of their children's power? It is better that we cannot believe, I think."

"So yes, Mizuno-sensei," he said as he finished his fantastical narrative, "I think there may be any number of reasons for your daughter's condition, and just as many as to why she cannot, or must not, confide in you. Of course, I am not even able to believe any of this as true, and I would bet every yen I own that you feel the same. It is better that way. There is no harm in a father having wishful fantasies about what his daughter might be after all, when he knows in his head that they cannot be true."

He gave Katsura a surprisingly comforting look. "As long as you do what you are able, the Senshi will attend to themselves. We may not know much about them, but even we can see them progress in the news reports and gossip columns."

Katsura couldn't believe it. It was the idealistic ramblings of a lunatic, obsessed with his daughter's position and status. Even the very concept was laughable. But then, as he said, surely that was the point? And if so, what could she do to comfort Ami now?

And from beneath the settee Aremis lay, his tail thrashing worriedly. Minako's father had it dead to rights. 'This is bad.'

---

That night's hunting had once again proved fruitless for the Senshi. Either the youma were simply sitting on their hands in the depths of the Tokyo sewer systems, or some place equally unpleasant and labyrinthine, or they were able to cloak their activities beyond the Senshi's powers to detect. Setsuna had only stumbled onto the activities of the super-jointed shiva demon and the fox girl after all.

"That seems to be the way it happens too often," Usagi lamented, sitting at Makoto's living room table the following morning. The girl's flat was back to rights after several spates of cleaning, but it had taken her a while to invite them all over. "Until they start trying to get us out of the way," Usagi added.

"Coincidence is a powerful tool of fate," Rei agreed, "but it's a bit too fickle to count on."

Makoto shrugged as she tucked into her breakfast bowl of cereal. "There's nothing wrong with getting lucky. We shouldn't look gift horses in the mouth."

"I was going to say that!" Minako said, grumping that her proverb had been stolen out from under her. "It's all that bad horse-breath. Anyway, that's just the way it works. Power attracts power, and we're pretty powerful!"

"Well, worrying isn't going to make it any better," Makoto said, saying what the rest of them wanted to think. "We can't track them down if we don't have anything to go on. Something will turn up. We can fight at the last minute if we have to. We've done that before, and these ones didn't seem too strong."

"They got away from all ten of us," Minako reminded. "And stop looking like that Rei-chan," she added, seeing her friend's face fall, "No-one is blaming you."

Makoto nodded and gave Rei's hand a quick squeeze. Usagi smiled at them, but it wasn't nearly her usual, carefree sort of smile. "Yeah, it doesn't matter Rei-chan. I'm proud that you protected everyone. I know you wouldn't have done it if you had a choice."

Rei had to sniff, knowing she was far too old to get so emotional over that reassurance. "Thanks, dumpling-head."

"Hey, I'm being nice here!" Usagi said, taking her turn to grump as Rei made fun of her. She sighed, her mind turning back to other things, "It would be better if Ami was here. She'd be able to find them in no time, I bet."

The other three looked down at the table, and Makoto spooned the last of her breakfast into her mouth, just to stop herself saying anything. Of course, she had to say it anyway. "Like I said, worrying isn't going to make it any better, Usagi-chan. She made her decision, and now this is the consequence."

"Mako-chan!" Usagi all but cried, "You're her best friend!" Her voice soften as she realised she was shouting. "How can you say it like that?"

Makoto looked shamefaced at that, but she wasn't going to take those words back. She was speaking her mind, and she felt that she had it right. "She is, but she knew what she was doing. She's smart. Maybe that means she wanted someone more, or maybe it was because of that wine, but she didn't regret it. I hope she still doesn't, even if it means loving someone who can't love her back."

Usagi looked to Makoto with tears glistening in her eyes, eternally sympathetic for the plights of her friends. "She really loves Haruka-san?"

Both Rei and Makoto nodded. "I think so," Rei said. "She hasn't said so since we got back, but the way you said she was looking yesterday..."

"I know unrequited love," Makoto agreed. "Maybe Ami-chan doesn't react like me, but that sounds like it."

"I guess I can see why Michiru-san was so angry," Usagi said, fiddling with her thumbs. "Hotaru-chan said that Haruka-san and Ami-chan were meeting up so that Ami-chan would feel better."

"You don't think they..." Rei said, coming to an obvious if unwanted conclusion.

Makoto shook her head. "Ami-chan is smarter than that. She knew the limits of what she could have. I'm sure."

Rei gave her an unhappy look after that. "I guess I was too wrapped up to listen to her after all," she said glumly. Some friend she was, she thought.

"Tell me about it," Makoto agreed. "I had an empty message on my machine from her number. But you need a shoulder too Rei."

Rei looked at her, appreciating the thought, but it didn't make her feel much better about it.

"But why didn't she tell me?" Usagi asked, feeling forlorn that she hadn't been trusted to know. "You could have told me. I wouldn't have said anything."

"That's why," Minako replied seriously. "It was supposed to stay secret, once we were back. They both wanted it that way. We promised. I guess Haruka-san just felt too bad about it or something."

Usagi nodded, understanding that. "Actually, I think I know how Ami felt, just a little bit."

The other three were surprised at that, and Usagi found three pairs of eyes looking at her strangely. "It's kind of embarrassing." However, none of them pushed her. Thinking back at least one of them could imagine what Usagi meant, and it was behind them now anyway. Their princess was living with her destined prince, and they were both happy.

"Does Ami-chan know that?" Makoto asked eventually. "She didn't want you to look down on her. Maybe, if she knew that you know how she feels, it would help."

Usagi didn't meet Makoto's eyes. "It wasn't exactly the same. I didn't..."

"I don't think the specifics matter. She thinks a lot of you, as a friend, and she values your trust."

Usagi took a moment, before she gave a hesitant nod. "Maybe after we leave Rei-chan's tonight." She turned to the girl in question. "Are you going to be okay, doing the reading for us?"

Rei nodded. "We need to find those youma, so I'll do it. I'm the one that let them get away. It's not nearly as specific as Ami's computer or Michiru-san's mirror, but it's worth a try. As long as everyone is there we should get something at least."

Usagi nodded in thanks. "I'll tell Michiru-san and the others when I see her this afternoon. And I'll talk to her about Ami-chan as well. And see if Haruka-san is okay."

She sighed. "I hope Hotaru-chan is okay too."

---

Michiru looked better now, Usagi thought. Still not right, but at least she had smiled genuinely when the girl had turned up on the doorstep, her practice muffins in hand.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Usagi-chan," Michiru said, taking the cakelette and ushering her guest in. "I should have handled it better than I did."

Usagi shook her head. "I guess I can understand. But it did hurt. I don't want two of my best friends fighting."

Michiru sighed as they entered the kitchen, and took a chair for herself. "We won't fight," she reassured. "I don't think Ami-san wants to, and I'm too tired for it now. I just... I want it to go away."

"You still love her, don't you?" Usagi asked, but it wasn't much of a question. More of a prompt.

"Yes," Michiru replied, the muffin encircled in her hands. "But love isn't the issue."

Of course not, Usagi thought. There was no way that those two could fail to love each other, but trust was something far more fragile. Usagi felt bad for her. Michiru didn't deserve this. But then, neither did Haruka. Or Ami. But Michiru most of all. She hadn't even had a say in it. She just had to suffer the consequences, while the pair in question hoped that she would forgive them. Under the circumstances, that was a difficult thing to do.

Michiru took a bite out of the muffin, and chewed slowly. "Hmm, it is still a little floury Usagi-chan. You shouldn't be so timid with the flavourings, just because you used to over-spice everything."

Usagi nodded. She knew it, but she wanted Michiru's help with them, so she wasn't about to try and cover up her mistakes.

Which was, strangely, exactly what Michiru advised. "It's nothing terminal though. A little flavoured icing would fix it easily."

Usagi smiled at the roundabout praise. It was a far cry from the stern admonishings Michiru had dolled out when they had started.

Michiru's mind wasn't really on the cake though. "I'm sorry Usagi-chan, but I would like to cancel our lesson today."

The blonde nodded, the sadness creeping back into her eyes as the blue cloud over Michiru reappeared. "Okay. But we're having a fire reading tonight, at Rei-chan's shrine. She says we should all be there."

Michiru nodded. She did not relish the thought of seeing Ami again so soon, but this was work. She could be professional. "We will be there, and I'll tell Setsuna as well."

Usagi nodded. "Thank you." Then she paused, biting her lip just a little. "Umm, is Haruka-san here?"

Michiru nodded. It annoyed her that Usagi wanted Haruka's company, no doubt to try and make her feel better, but the pair of them had always been good friends. As long as they hadn't been enemies in their sailor outfits. She shook her head a little to clear away those thoughts. That had been a long time ago, and of course Usagi was worried about her. She had come to comfort Michiru herself after all, and such a sweet girl wouldn't be able to bear playing favourites.

"She's in the garage."

"Thank you Michiru-san," Usagi said, with a reassuring smile. "Be strong. It'll all work out, you'll see."

---

In the garage Haruka sat crouched in front of her motorbike. She worked on it mechanically, not really noticing what she was doing as she cleaned it and kept it in good, tight shape. Until Usagi called her name, that was.

"Haruka?"

Haruka wobbled a little in surprise, before plopping backwards to actually sit on the floor. She hadn't been expecting any company for a while yet. "Dumpling," she said in an affectionate but unusually listless voice, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Usagi just shook her head. Haruka was still Haruka, even now. "I wanted to see how you were doing? Are you okay?"

So Usagi knew, Haruka thought. She dropped that playful air. It was too hard right now anyway. "I'm okay, I think. I guess we'll just have to wait and see." She gave Usagi a smile, but it was full of longing. "I screwed up."

But that wasn't right either. "We did what we needed. I can live with the consequences. I just wish they didn't hurt so much."

Usagi didn't know what to make of that. Was Haruka making excuses to her? To herself? She didn't want to think about that, because it just reminded her how much she hurt seeing Michiru so depressed.

"How is Hotaru-chan?"

Haruka looked back to her bike, but didn't really see it. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I haven't seen her."

"Oh." That must have hurt so much, for both of them, but Usagi couldn't find anything else to say.

---

It had been awkwardly quiet at the shrine as the younger girls had waited for their older counterparts. Despite Minako and Usagi's best efforts, conversation had been short and abrupt. Ami wasn't being talkative - who could blame her? – and the other four seemed cautious of saying anything that might offend her, even though they wanted her to talk about her feeling with them. At least then they would have been out in the open, and they could have tried to comfort her. As it was even the cats seemed uncomfortable, and Artemis lay on Minako's lap, his tail involuntarily restless, while Luna simply sat with a wary gaze in her eyes.

But, as it was, Ami broke the quiet herself by dragging Makoto away for a moment, under a natural pretext: everyone was grateful for the offer of drinks, just to break the silence.

Of course they had all seen through it easily, Makoto most of all. "Ami-chan, what is it?"

Ami gave her a ghost of a smile as she got the glasses from Rei's kitchen cupboard. "Don't worry Mako-chan, I won't break. I just wanted to say something. We have been good friends for a long time. You keep saying that I can talk to you if I need to, but you do know that you can do the same, come to me if you ever need help, I mean. If you need money, for example."

Makoto looked at her in surprise, before her face hardened a little. Where had that come from all of a sudden? "Rei..."

"Don't think of blaming her," Ami said, pre-empting Makoto's thoughts. "School is important Mako-chan, not like all our other silly problems. If you ever needed money, then Mother would be more than willing to help you."

Ami's smile grew strangely amused, halting Makoto's comeback. "She likes you, you know. She thinks that you are a very strong person, growing up alone and making a success of yourself. She respects you a great deal, as we all do. Please remember that."

Makoto was knocked reeling by that admission. Someone like Mizuno-sensei respected an awkward orphan who got kicked out of middle school for fighting? For that moment her worries were turned completely on their head. "Uhh, thank you, Ami-chan. But... I can't take money from you..."

Ami thrust a drink into the girl's hands and shushed her. "Yes you can, if you need to. Even if it's just a loan. If you wanted to, you could pay us back at any time."

Makoto blinked, feeling very stupid in comparison to her long-time friend. Ami on the other hand just poured the other drinks. "I should have said it ages ago," Ami finished. "But I've been rather selfish lately."

"Don't talk like that," Makoto replied, taking a share of the drinks, but as they headed back any further conversation was curtailed as they heard the main door slide open, and shut.

The 'outers' were there. Ami paused and took a breath before she returned, and she was careful to hand out her friends' drinks before she turned to see the others. Michiru and Haruka looked very self possessed, as she had expected. They above any of them, except perhaps Setsuna, could set their own emotions aside when it came to their work, even without their sailor suits. Setsuna herself on the other hand carried an air of compassion in her eyes. As usual it seemed that she knew more than the rest of them, although how much was always debatable. It actually made Ami feel a little better, knowing that someone could see something she could not, from such a far removed perspective as Setsuna had. It did at least give her hope that this was simply a moment in the passing of their lives, and not the terminus that it sometimes felt like.

And then she saw Hotaru. There was fire in her eyes, eyes which usually held such a calm and wise smile, be it one of genuine happiness or one of sad understanding. Ami knew what was coming, but she didn't try to move. If anyone deserved to hit her, it was Hotaru. Ami remembered what it was like being a teenager like her, and under surprisingly similar circumstances. They were both disliked at times for their talents.

It was only a weak slap, almost hesitant, but if anything it hurt more than Michiru nearly knocking her off her feet. Ami had seen it coming, and had felt it from the girl's eyes rather than her hand. Hotaru recoiled instinctively as soon as she had done it, still angry, but now fearful and apologetic as well. "I'm sorry!" she blurted, "but... How could you!" She threw down a magazine, the page open to show a photo of her mother and Ami in the aftermath of the hit she had received at the cafe.

So it had been published after all, Ami thought. And with a similarly dramatic article no doubt, entirely made up of supposition and gossip. She had an irrational urge to read it, but she knew that whatever it said it would only upset her. Goodness only knew what stories they had created to give the image some sort of meaning.

"Hotaru! Stop it."

Hotaru whirled around on her heels, suddenly confused as she was scolded. "But Michiru-mama!"

Both Michiru and Setsuna shook their heads. "That's enough," Michiru said, her aura of collected competence slipping for a moment to show just how emotionally drained she was.

As it happened Makoto found herself looked at Haruka. She just stood there, almost dispassionately. What was going on inside her head? Why didn't she stand up for herself, or at least for one of the girls, no matter whose side it was!

But the moment passed, and a stern voice turned every head in the room. "We aren't here to quarrel, and certainly not to fight each other!" Luna castigated. This wasn't just the voice of Usagi's long suffering cat now, this was the voice of a royal advisor, who had had more than enough of their foolishness. "Just because you are not in uniform does not mean your mission is your second priority now! If you must bicker and squabble then do so when we are not assembled for important business, and you can be sure that I will have words to say on this matter as well when you do!"

Then, satisfied that her girls had been properly spoken to by their dumbstruck faces or downcast eyes, she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Rei-chan, if you would please."

Rei stood as one of the dumbstruck for a moment longer, before she nodded and led them all through to the fire room. 'Here goes nothing,' she thought as she took her seat in front of the huge contained blaze, and closed her eyes, reaching out for the spirit of the fire. She tried to put what she had just seen out of her mind.

A first there was nothing. That was always the way. She was slowly clearing her mind, focusing her consciousness into the flames. Sometimes it would be minutes before she saw the first snatch of an image, other times it could be hours. She never knew at the time. One minute it would just be the roar of them flames, the next she was there. She saw herself running, with the rest of the Senshi. It was the same as her nightmare had been, running through the blackness, and somehow, along the way, they disappeared, one by one. But there was more this time. There were flashes of presence. One black and bitter, another angry and flailing bluely. 'That shiva demon,' Rei thought, before another flash, this one of muscles and determination. A few feathers fell into the blackness, only to catch the wind and soar.

Then Rei remembered what happened next, and it did. The hand touched her shoulder, from in front this time, and Rei no longer controlled the flames. They controlled her. She was burning. She screamed, and jerked out from the trance, scrambling back away from her fire. She knew that touch. "No!"

Only Usagi's arms were there to bring her back as she tried to shake off that nightmarish feeling. She looked up to see the others just staring at the fire, and Makoto standing in front of her, only inches from the licking flames, with her arms spread wide.

It was Desir. She grinned from the fire, her own flaming hair flowing down her neck as the spiritual fire licked across her orange skin. She sat there with gleeful red eyes and a blade-fanged smirk that was painted across her orange lips. "Aw, is that any way to treat an old friend?" she asked, feigning hurt and grinning all the wider. "And little Rei has done so well! Her knight in technicolor armour is ready to get incinerated for her! Aren't you the noble one!"

"Leave!" Makoto and Haruka barked in unison, Haruka already raising her transformation pen. "You won't have her again!" Makoto said, her voice deadly serious.

"Oh, calm down dear," Desir said with a careless wave. "I'm not here to 'get' her. I have a present!"

From a non-existent pocket in the clothes she was not wearing she pulled out a small, purple ball. It looked smooth, and shimmered as Desir rolled it around in her hand. "Here, catch!" She tossed it lightly to Haruka, who reached out to catch it reflexively.

The second she did she regretted it. Who in their right mind would have taken gift from a demonette without at least seeing what it was first? But her body, trained by years of sports practice, had decided for her. The second the ball touched her skin the glass-like surface folded and broke, dissolving away as Haruka's hand was bathed in wisps of light purple smoke.

Her heart sank as she felt a familiar chill, this time it ravaged her body like a snowstorm. She felt that essence of somebody else permeating her body, but on a level she had never known existed when she had been apprentice to the Warlocks of Seiji. This was so far beyond her that it made her head hurt just to think about what it might mean.

And so much of that essence felt familiar. It was Master Daltass, mixed with something uneven, like a wind-whipped thread woven into the calm cloth, which she could only guess was Desir herself. And someone else she didn't recognise; human, but who hadn't communed with her in the Art. Her hands went to her stomach and chest in worry. "What did you do? What did you do to me?! Why did it feel like Master Daltass?!"

Desir just smiled. " Oh, that bastard gave me a little parting gift, to keep me occupied I suppose, in case I ever found my little Rei again. It took me ages to work out what he'd done too. I think I was actually supposed to give it to Ami, but I don't think it matters too much in your case!"

Haruka swallowed hard, remembering, and her left hand went to join her right on her stomach. "You didn't... He wouldn't..."

Desir's smile was positively glowing, but the trace of malicious mischief there was undeniable. "Wish granted, Haruka-kun!"

---

To Be Continued...

---

Author's Notes: Yes, I'm evil, putting in a cliff-hanger like that! I would say not to write to me about it, but anyone giving feedback probably will anyway!

Also, my apologies to whoever came up with the second half of the chapter title this time around. I know I've read it somewhere before, and I'm sure it's been used many times since, but it just wouldn't stay deleted. And imitation is the most sincere for of flattery after all!

Please leave a review with any comments and criticisms you have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.

(c) Nutzoide 2007


	5. What I Want

Shooting for the Moon: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

---

Shooting for the Moon

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 4: What I Want...

A Licence to be Selfish.

Haruka swallowed hard, remembering, and her left hand went to join her right on her stomach. "You didn't... He wouldn't..."

Desir's smile was positively glowing, but the trace of malicious mischief there was undeniable. "Wish granted, Haruka-kun!"

Haruka stood dumbfounded. She didn't need to ask what that magic had been. The insinuation was clear, but how was it even possible? Why would her Warlock Master have done that? Why would he have chosen Desir as his courier? Why her, and why now of all times?

"This is a joke, right?" she asked, her voice as cold as stone. Her eyes burrowed into Desir, but the demonette just continued to smile.

"My my, Haruka-kun, whatever could you mean?"

Then she realised what Desir had actually said. It had originally been meant for Ami. If it hadn't been so tragic Haruka would have smiled. The old goat had possessed a keen, affable wit with more than a little edge to it. She could fully believe that he would go so out of his way to give such a perverse gift, because there would have been very little harm in it. The rest of them would have been there to support the girl, even if the conditions were not considered ideal.

But then, Haruka had noticed that about Seiji, and the family Makoto had been close to. Single parents were normal there.

All the while Haruka's family watched, barely understanding what they were seeing. This was Rei's demon?

"What have you done to her!?" Michiru demanded. "What was that ball!?"

Beside Haruka Hotaru looked up at her with worried eyes. Eyes that had suddenly lost the cautious anger of the last few days. "H-Haruka-papa? Are you okay?"

Setsuna just watched. There was no need to transform if the younger girls were willing to stand up to this creature without their magic. And it explained a lot, if her guess was correct. An awful lot.

The three of them did not know Desir though. In an instant Ami was by Haruka's side, while Makoto and Minako both glared ferociously at Desir. "Spit it out demonette!" Makoto yelled right into Desir's face, still righteously boiling after trying to defend Rei.

Behind her girlfriend Rei was trembling, drawing strength from Usagi as the girl held her, but the shock was over now, and her determination had set back in. She got shakily to her feet, Usagi still supporting her, and glared at Desir. "Stop grinning and answer damn it! You never shut up before so don't start biting your lip now!"

Under the combined verbal assault Desir sighed comically. "Ah, to be spurned by my old mistress, but since you all asked so nicely..."

Haruka didn't give her the satisfaction. "The Art. It was Warlock magic, from Seiji. I didn't even think it worked here." She gave a brief glance towards Michiru. "I've tried."

"It doesn't," Desir confirmed with a satisfied smirk. "That's why I had to make the capsule for it. You have -no idea- how long it took to make, Haruka-kun."

"Stop calling me that!" Haruka suddenly yelled. Desir had never used proper Japanese before, why did she have to start now, mocking her with it?

"Oh, but your suffixes are so much fun!" Desir replied gleefully. "But I suppose I really shouldn't, should I Haruka-papa?"

Haruka flinched. She hadn't wanted to hear it from Desir's mouth. It also stopped the other girls in their tracks, but Ami was the first to recognise the reality of the situation. After all the misunderstandings in Seiji, how could she not? Especially if that magic capsule had been meant for her. "You are... pregnant."

"Hmm, that is a point," Desir noted. "It should be Haruka--mama- now I suppose. How very convoluted."

No-one had anything to say to that. What was the proper response to discovering something on that scale? And for Haruka of all people.

"H-Haruka-san, I'm sorry..." Ami whispered.

"As if this was somehow your fault," Michiru growled. Very few of them had ever heard Michiru growl before. Even with her elegant looks full grown tigers would have had second thoughts about taking her on after that. It was no surprise that Ami cringed, but the anger wasn't directed at her, the others realised. She was staring straight at Desir. "What is the meaning of this? Some sick sort of joke!? As if fighting for her wasn't hard enough already, you have to jump up and do THIS!?!"

Desir just gave her a winning smile. "Ah, you would be the girlfriend. How awkward for you."

Michiru closed her eyes and swallowed hard, stopping herself from screaming. "I can assume that... this supposed child is Ami-san's?"

Desir just nodded, looking strangely content. Not overly jovial as she had been. Just happy. "Of course. Why should she have to live with a consolation prize?"

"I would have been happy with that," Ami suddenly said with a sob, surprising everyone, even Desir. "I never wanted to cause all this trouble."

"But if there is 'all this trouble'," Desir put in, "then you must want her for yourself after all. Or maybe Haruka might want you enough to risk losing what she has." She mock sighed with that jovial air once again. "Oh, how wonderfully convoluted indeed!"

"But how could you do this?!" Usagi challenged from behind the flaming demonette. "How could you do this to Michiru-san and Haruka-san? And doesn't Ami-chan have enough to worry her without this too?! And even if you did make Ami-chan pregnant instead, she's still young, and in school, and she'd be a single mother! How would that have been fair either?!"

Desir turned and smiled at the girl. "You would be Usagi then. You know, I've wanted to meet you for a long time. My Rei has all sorts of wonderful memories in her head about you!"

"Desir!" Rei exclaimed, hoping to shut the demonette up, but Haruka wasn't paying attention to them, and answered Usagi's question.

"Dumpling, I never told anyone about Japan when I was away. Master Daltass couldn't have known that his 'gift'," she said the word as though it tasted a little bitter, "would have caused problems for her."

"But..."

"I'm sure Mako-chan noticed," Haruka continued. "The nomad men didn't spend much time with their families. Being a single parent was normal there."

Makoto nodded sadly as she realised the truth in that. "They were all like that. Juriere didn't always like it, but she just accepted that her husband was never there. The mothers and older children would all help raise the kids. Actually, that was kind of fun."

"That makes sense I guess," Minako said, the pieces connecting inside her head. "We have enough girls to help muck out."

Michiru felt an involuntary twitch. "Minako-chan, now is not the time. So," she said, looking daggers at their uninvited guest, "even if that is so, why exactly did you choose Haruka instead?"

"As I said," Desir smirked, "I rather like her, so why shouldn't I give her a shot at the gold?"

"And cause as much trouble as you can along the way," Rei added with vitriol.

Desir giggled. "Well, it will certainly be interesting, eh? One night stands can become so complicated if you aren't careful!"

Haruka heard Michiru trying to control her breathing, and watched as the woman she loved balled her fists.

"Careful?" Michiru bit out. "How exactly could they have been any more 'careful'!?!"

Ami cringed at that, as Makoto watched, worried. 'Maybe careful so that she didn't get so attached,' she thought. 'Not that it helps now.'

Michiru didn't wait for Desir's inevitable, supposedly witty answer. She just turned away and began to walk. "That's enough," she said, forcing herself to keep her composure, and not knowing which way she might go if she failed. "I'm going home."

"Michiru-san!" Usagi called, but all the worry in the world wasn't going to stop her.

Hotaru looked back after her. She had just sat through it all in stunned silence. What was she supposed to think now? Who was she supposed to blame? She could feel the tears burning in her eyes, but she couldn't scream at Ami any more. She couldn't scream at her surrogate father either. She loved her too much to blame her, even if she wanted to.

She had never slapped anyone before, and now she was throwing the second one that day as her hand lashed out and struck Rei across the cheek. "Why couldn't you stop her!?" Hotaru asked, crying openly. "She's your demon!!"

A twisted logic perhaps, but she couldn't hit fire itself. She was already feeling guilty for it when she turned to Desir, sitting in the sacred flames, and screamed.

"I HATE YOU!"

Rei stood watching the young girl run after her mother, her hand rubbing at her stinging cheek. But what could she do? She had never been able to control Desir. That had been the root of all her problems. "You've done your damage," she said angrily, a trace of fear unsteadying her voice, "so what now? If the Dark Art won't work, how do we get rid of you?"

Desir just shook her head. "Ah, my little Rei, I don't think you've quite grasped the point. This world is not Seiji. Not even sorcery will work here. Magic can be very temperamental that way. Believe me, it took me years to find a way up here, and I could only do it because of our pact."

"Years?" Makoto asked, her mind boggling. It had only been a month or so since their return.

"Yep," Desir confirmed with a wide, self-satisfied smile. "And if anyone back home finds out I managed it you have no idea how much pain I'll be in for! But I just had to say hi again, and I had our little present after all."

Usagi looked at the burning woman with confused pity. "How can you be so unkind?"

"Hey, I'm sure you can give me a little credit," Desir defended, though she hardly seemed bothered by it. "You'll see. Your friends got to play Seraphi. There's something conspiring to carry you girls, even if it's just the winds of fate, or destiny, or whatever such rubbish you believe in on this world. This is just for flavour along the way! As for me, you can stop with the daggers Rei. I'd be banished if I tried to leave your little fire here, and it's hard enough even staying here since your reality doesn't support sorcery. Lucky for me our pact still has some cosmic clout." She gave Rei a cheeky wink. "It's not just words after all!"

"So that's it?" Minako asked, not looking too happy. "You're just going to dump this on us and scarper?"

Desir laughed. "Somehow I doubt my little Rei would like me sticking around!"

"Let's just hope your kind do find out about this," Makoto said, staring Desir straight in the eyes. "Karma maybe."

"And it's been charming seeing you again as well Mako. You take good care of my little girl, and don't keep her out too late on schooldays!" She gave them all a sweeping bow. "Girls, a pleasure."

And with that she was gone, the sacred flames sputtering out as she vanished. They all stood in silence, their minds turning over everything that had just happened, and from the doorway the two cats emerged from their hiding places.

"Haruka-san," Usagi said as Rei and Makoto stepped together, "are you okay?"

Haruka's mind was fairly blank. "... I suppose so. Technically."

Ami wanted to say something to that, but she bit her lip. She couldn't think of a single word that wouldn't feel painful as it left her lips, and so she settled for slipping to her knees, looking at the cats and waiting for their inevitable comment.

Artemis just padded over to Minako and the girl picked him up gently, but Luna looked at them all, and Haruka in particular, with a gaze that was trying to comprehend this sudden twist of fate. "I think we had better have that talk now, everyone." Then she looked over at their hostess. "Rei-chan, could I have some water please? My throat suddenly feels dry."

---

Rei had rarely ever needed to put up the 'Shrine Closed' sign at the bottom of the long stone steps, but this was one of those times. It was getting late, and all the patrons had retired already, but she felt that they were better safe than sorry. Her grandfather might have a few questions if he came home early from the council meet he had been guilt-tripped into attending, but it wouldn't have been the first time she ended up making excuses for herself.

As she climbed the steps back up she spotted one of the resident crows by the path-side. "She spooked you too, huh Phobos-chan?"

The crow looked up and cawed at her, before it resumed its pecking around the stonework for cicadas. Rei shook her head and left her would-be pet to its foraging. "Or maybe not. It must be nice."

The sky above had already turned the most brilliant shade of orange as Rei rejoined their gang, sitting outside. "Where's Setsuna-san?" she asked as she took a seat on the decking that surrounded the building.

"I sent her ahead," Luna replied from the middle of the paved path, at the 'head' of the group. "She understands this already. Goodness knows that we have discussed it enough. She will deal with Michiru."

"Luna," Usagi said, not wanting to ruffle anyone's feathers right now, "I don't think this is the time to be telling us off."

"On the contrary," Luna replied curtly. "The time for that has already gone, thanks to our lenience on you all. I am just making sure it doesn't cause any more damage."

Several of the girls winced at that statement, but they didn't speak up.

"Haruka-san, we need to either confirm your condition or disprove it..."

"Hey, Luna," Makoto suddenly interrupted, surprising the cat with her show of brass, "you can't talk about it like a disease! And besides, it's not even her fault!"

"I'm well aware of that Makoto-chan," Luna replied, gazing levelly at the tall girl. "But whatever the case we need to either prove or disprove that she is pregnant. Until then," she continued, turning to Haruka, "and from then on if you are indeed carrying, you are forbidden from transforming."

"Luna!" Minako, Usagi and Makoto exclaimed.

"Wait," Rei said to her friends, understanding the point. "We can't let her fight if she's going to have a baby."

"And trust me," Haruka added, unable to get the touch of the Art out of her head, "it's real. I doubt you can fake that kind of feeling. The Art I mean. And it's really that bitch's style."

Luna looked over to Rei, as if she would have a better grasp of that particular fact. Rei just nodded, looking at the ground. "Yeah, she'd think it was hilarious. And you heard her. I don't think she was lying."

Luna nodded and sighed in resignation. "Very well. But please Haruka-san, just make sure. For your own sake."

Haruka nodded. "... Yeah. But I won't give up fighting. You need me."

"That isn't open to discussion Haruka-san." Luna sounded even more serious about that point. "I frankly didn't think this would become an issue without a little forewarning, but trying to use magic in your condition..."

Makoto's eyebrow twitched again, and Artemis took over as Luna hesitated.

"It would be problematic at best," he finished for his partner. "Your powers are uniquely yours, tied to your own inner energy, but if you are pregnant it's not just your own energy inside you any more. You could end up harming both yourself and your child just by transforming, let alone using your Senshi powers."

Luna actually tried to give Haruka a smile there, though she didn't know how reassuring she could be right then. "We want to keep you safe Haruka-san, and right now that means keeping you off the battlefields."

Usagi nodded, finally agreeing with her advisor. "It's okay Haruka-san. We'll be fine. These new youma seemed kind of weak anyway, didn't they? And we haven't seen anything in ages, so maybe we don't have to worry about them, at least for now."

"Dumpling, we can't take that risk."

"She's right Haruka-san," Ami said softly. "We can manage. We have to keep each other safe. It's just that, this time, it means you mustn't fight."

Luna nodded, pleased with the clear-headedness her girls were showing. However... "That leads me to my second point, Ami-chan. I don't like the factions that keep arising among us all. Setsuna-san might not agree with me, but separating our forces down the middle serves no purpose if we don't keep each other informed."

"Alright," Haruka said, already knowing where this was going. "I know. No more secrets, infighting, all that stuff. I've done this bit already Luna... And if I can't fight, it doesn't matter anyway."

Luna paused, surprised by Haruka's outburst. Of course she was going to be tense right now, but it had been an unforeseen bit of information. Luna had expected a little resistance at least. "I see. Thank you Haruka-san. I hope the other three can also take that to heart."

"However," she continued, "That wasn't quite my point. You have been doing well at coming together, your last battle proved that, but there are also holes appearing that could easily be taken advantage of."

"What do you mean?" Minako asked, now rather confused. "We're fighting better than ever!"

Artemis sighed. "Technically? Yes."

"But you're choosing favourites," Luna said summing up her thoughts. "I was already worried enough about that with Haruka-san and Michiru-san."

"Hey!" Makoto said, the quickest on the uptake this time, and she stepped closer to Rei, taking her hand almost defiantly. "You're saying we shouldn't be allowed to love each other!?"

Luna looked at the pair and let out a sigh as Rei blushed bright red at the uncharacteristically open show of affection from Makoto. "Ideally that would be the case, but I can't choose who you fall in love with, or when. Just remember this Makoto-chan, you are making each other into targets, and when your 'partner' is taking all your attention, you won't be there to help your other friends when they need you."

She looked over at Haruka. It was cruel she knew, but she needed to make the point, and make it as strongly as possible. "I have been trying for years to break Usagi-chan and Mamoru-kun's dangerous habits in that regard. Likewise, Setsuna has had far more success in training Haruka-san and Michiru-san, but it still cost them their lives in the Marine Cathedral, didn't it Haruka-san?"

Luna watched guiltily as Haruka's eyes bored into the ground. She had not seen the strong, confident young woman cry before, but then, she also guessed that some of that confidence was only skin deep. She was already regretting how far she had gone before Haruka got to her feet and slowly headed for the steps, not wanting to let the others see her tears.

"Haruka-san, wait!" Usagi, Makoto and Ami cried out, but Haruka had been driven too far for one day. She just wanted to be alone. She wanted time to think. She wanted a simple way out. Even a reset button would have done.

She reached into her pocket and took out her transformation pen.

"Haruka-san!" Luna exclaimed, but she needn't have worried. Haruka just let the thing fall from her fingers.

"I'll want it back, you hear me!?" Haruka shouted, standing hunched in the last of the orange sunset before she started down the steps.

"Luna," Ami said, her own eyes watering in sympathy, "that was too cruel!"

Luna looked ashamed at that. "Maybe. But you understand what I am saying. I would rather hurt you now than let you get each other hurt in battle."

The others seemed to accept that, regardless of what they felt inwardly, but Makoto remained defiant. "You can't dictate to me. Not about this Luna. I won't give her up!"

Luna watched as Makoto wrapped her arms protectively around Rei. "I doubt I need to ask," Luna replied, "but I won't need to worry about either of you following in Haruka's footsteps, will I?"

Makoto held Rei tighter, glaring at the cat.

"No Luna," Rei replied, feeling uneasy all of a sudden. "I don't think that demon will be coming back any time soon." Not if she could help it anyway. Even if that meant giving up her fire readings.

"And I know I've already spoken about it with Usagi-chan," Luna added. "At great length."

Usagi nodded, but her mind wasn't really on the lecture. She was feeling bad about Haruka and Michiru, but she did at least answer.

"We're careful."

"And you don't need to look at me like that," Minako said, pre-empting Luna. "I've always been careful. If I wasn't my parents would kill me. Literally. Actually, if they knew the truth I'd probably be in trouble anyway, but yeah."

Luna decided that that was enough for one evening. She had already driven one of her best fighters off, even if she couldn't fight at present, and at least one other now hated her guts. "Okay. That's all then. The rest is up to you girls. Just make sure you can live up to the choices you make, both on and off the battlefield. Please."

---

Michiru sat on the comfortable leather, feeling - and not for the first time - that their sofa was far too big for just one person. It was one of those feelings that came to her at the strangest of moments, as if her mind was trying to distract itself, regardless of whether she wanted to be distracted or not. She never let it show, but she could be distracted a little too easily at times. That was what made her painting so intriguing. She could give those distractions form, whether in the details of a still-life or the surrealism of a dreamscape.

Right now however her observant self-distraction was not so welcome. She wanted to indulge in the luxury of brooding, since she felt herself too mature and self-possessed to properly act out. She had been working on a nice, dark bit of brooding before the overly empty sofa had decided to occupy her mind, and it left her struggling. She wanted to feel bad now, really and truly awful, so that she could get it all out of the way. She had a daughter to comfort, and a lover to deal with.

That was 'deal with' as in try to understand her plight. As in try to forgive her with her heart and not just with words. Try to reclaim at least some of the trust and emotional intimacy that had connected them so deeply. That wasn't an easy thing, she knew, even if that intimacy meant that she knew how Haruka would be feeling, now that this had been done to her.

And finally she realised that she did have an outlet for her flailing emotions. A very simple one, to whom any damage she did would be healed in almost no time at all.

"You can say something now," Michiru bit out, relieved that her imagined solitude was broken. Now she could be angry to her heart's content.

"I doubt that a simple, sympathetic apology will help," Setsuna replied, standing by the counter that separated the kitchen and living room. And though the words were cold, the voice that spoke them was one laced with sadness. That had been the apology.

"Spare me your abstruse insight," Michiru replied, getting to her feet and letting herself frown freely at her mentor and friend. The woman who had been, from the beginning, a second mother to her child. "You knew about this, didn't you? All of it. Did you think we wouldn't notice you spending so much time at that Gate of yours when Haruka came home? I just didn't realise why."

Setsuna just accepted the accusations. They were mostly true after all. Against most people Setsuna would have had none of it, but Michiru at least deserved the few answers Setsuna could give. "I felt the changes when she returned," Setsuna admitted, very straightforward. "The future had changed so violently when they all left our universe, and the reverse was also true. I didn't know why the threads of fate had been altered, I could just see that they had. You of all people know that the future is not an exact science."

"But this can't have been part of our future!!" Michiru exclaimed, furious and distraught. "Why couldn't you tell me something like this!?" And then some of the energy left her in a sigh and a sob. "Even if I'd have to deal with it anyway, you could have told me. Especially then."

"That is true," Setsuna admitted again. "This was never a part of our timeline. But it is now. A very important part in fact. It will not affect the rise of Crystal Tokyo, and what I can see of our future before then, if we continue on the right path, is one that may prove brighter."

"But what about -US-!?" Michiru countered. "What about Haruka and I?! How can this be brighter?"

Setsuna gave her a sad smile. "Some things change very little, Michiru, no matter how much the future shifts. Haruka and yourself have always been together, in one way or another, and largely for the best. Regardless of how you come out of this challenge, the two of you will be close, and you will be happy to have lived through it, as long as you let yourself."

Then she said the words that Michiru didn't want to hear. "And, by contrast, you have always had your times apart. And again, those are largely for the best."

"SHUT UP! That's not true! I still love her, and she'll still love me! I'll make sure of it!! I still want her... don't I?"

Setsuna tried to give her a comforting smile, even though Michiru had shut her eyes in an attempt to ward off what she was hearing. "You will always love one another, for as long as you both live, but love is a difficult thing when the years become decades, and the decades become centuries. You know that, on some level. Even if you won't truly understand it until you have lived it."

"And I won't tell you what happens now," Setsuna finished. "With so many possibilities, and so many choices for you all to make, it would be little better than a guess. But you have lived through the latest phase of your relationship properly, finding your own answers. That is the only way to satisfy fate."

Michiru stood there and clenched her fists. "... That doesn't tell me anything... Even 'we'll always be together in some way', that could mean anything! We could be dead and it would still fulfil your useless prophesies! Are you saying I'm supposed to leave her!? We're supposed to make it work somehow!?"

Setsuna laid a hand on Michiru's arm. "If the choices were not yours to make, it would not be your life."

"I hate you sometimes!"

"... I know."

---

Ami felt numb. She wasn't sure what else she was supposed to be feeling right now, but whatever it was that emotion wasn't there. It wasn't the overly emotional, teenage angst 'numb' that so many depressing singers went on about either. It was just a calm sort of blankness, and her thoughts skittered across it like confused kittens across an icy pond. They knew there was supposed to be some sort of traction to them, but when they moved their metaphorical paws it didn't seem to have much effect.

Perhaps it wasn't a lack of feeling, but that she was feeling everything all at once. She was happy for herself that her feelings for Haruka, however superfluous they were, had been given some sort of vindication. She was upset that these events were causing more and more problems for everyone around her. She felt humbled that the Warlock had considered her, and them, worthy of such a gift. She hated her ego for thinking that this was something to be happy about. Worried for Haruka, guilty for herself, relieved for Rei that Desir could not do anything more in this world - it all came together in one soupy brown mixture which left her thoughts with no anchor, since no one emotion was willing to take ground over the others.

She turned her key in the door, only to find it unlocked. In her current state of mind it was just one more skittering kitten of curiosity that flitted through her brain before she continued inside. She would have to try and remember that image to tell the others. It would probably make them smile.

"I'm home," she called out, mostly out of reflex, but this time she did get a reply.

"Welcome back," her mother called in return. "Ami, could you join me please?"

Ami registered that request as she slipped off her shoes. Why would her mother be home early on a weekday? It wasn't even ten o' clock yet.

The answer, it turned out, was sitting obviously on the coffee table that her mother sat at. "Ami, I know you are not feeling too well at the moment, but we need to talk. One of the nurses at work gave me this."

Ami's eyes locked onto the open magazine, and the image of Michiru and herself just after their moment of altercation the previous day.

"The article makes for upsetting reading," Katsura said levelly, "but I would much rather hear the honest explanation. This is why you have been so depressed recently, isn't it?"

Ami just continued to stare. Finally one of her emotions was winning. She had let her mother down, and now she had to admit it. "M-Mother," she stammered, trying to keep her voice level. "It is... complicated," she finally finished, lamely.

"I would expect so," Katsura said with a sigh. "Especially after I came home to find yourself and Tenoh-san fully dressed, asleep on this settee."

Ami felt herself failing. Her eyes itched, but she couldn't cry. "I'm sorry Mother. I'm so sorry!"

Katsura got up as Ami hid her face in her hands, and she wrapped her arms around her daughter. "I don't need you to be sorry, Ami. I know you are not the type of girl to cause trouble. What I need is to be told why. Do you understand how worried I have been? I have you back, and yet I can't do a thing to help you."

Ami wept tearlessly into her mother's arms. "I love her! I can't help it!"

Katsura sighed again as she comforted her. "And you kept it a secret, and now Kaioh-san knows."

Ami nodded into her mother's shoulder. "We were both so lonely, and our powers made us hurt, and it was only one night! That was supposed to be the end of it! Why did all of this have to happen?"

'So they did do something,' Katsura thought. She didn't like it, but there it was. "You always were a late bloomer," she said. "But you're an adult Ami, and these things happen. Even if it was," she swallowed hard as she tried to say the words, "only for one night, you were in that world together for a long time. Are you going to try and take her for yourself?"

"No!" Ami said, finally looking up. "I... I can't do that. It's not right." But then she had already done enough that 'wasn't right', she thought sadly. "I don't know if it matters now though."

Katsura looked at her questioningly, and with more than a hint of worry. "What do you mean?"

"It..." Ami hesitated, "has got very complicated."

Katsura didn't follow. "How do you mean? Complicated enough for Kaioh-san to strike you?"

"No," Ami said, shaking her head. "That was just... that was before. You know that Minako-chan said there was a demon in Seiji, when she was giving her press conference? We had to deal with that demon a lot, and she decided to visit us tonight."

Katsura went white. "You are serious? You are okay, aren't you Ami? What about your friends?"

Ami bowed her head. It took her an age to say it. "She decided that Haruka-san and myself shouldn't be exempt from the risks of... what we did."

Katsura swallowed. Hard.

"Haruka is pregnant."

This time it was Katsura's turn to falter with her words. "... H-how is that possible?"

So Ami explained. About the Art of the Warlocks, about the misunderstandings in Seiji over Ami's illness, and about the Warlock Master's bastardised good intentions.

It actually felt good to say it. What didn't feel so good was her mother's shell-shocked reaction.

"Well, there is some of your father in you after all," Katsura finally said. "When he did make things complicated, he never did it half-way."

Ami buried her head in her mother's shoulder again. "I'm sorry!"

"The question is," Katsura said, "if this only happened tonight, what are Tenoh-san and Kaioh-san going to do?"

"I don't know," Ami replied quietly. "Michiru-san just left. And Haruka-san, I don't know."

Her mother gave her a gentle nudge. "And you? You have a very real voice in this Ami."

"I don't know! I... I just don't know. I'm scared. I don't even know what I want now!"

"It's okay," Katsura replied, retracting the question. "This is... rather unprecedented for anyone, I suspect. Even the Senshi."

Ami curled further into her mother's embrace, and in the back of her mind Katsura had to wonder.

"Ami, you have met Minako-chan's parents quite a few times, haven't you?"

"M-Minako-chan's?" Ami asked, confusion breaking her out of her dry tears. "Not often, but I suppose so. W-why?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Katsura lied. "I just met them again, recently. I'd had forgotten how flaky they seemed!"

"Mother!" Ami exclaimed, shocked at the openly expressed opinion. "That's not nice! They are just busy, because Aino-san can't earn much. Especially after his company made him redundant and he had to find a new job." She sighed. "Actually Mako-chan thinks the same way, but it's not their fault. They are very nice people, even if there is a little friction between them sometimes."

Katsura relented, still probing secretly for information. "I understand. I just didn't see them as the most down-to earth people."

She was glad when Ami actually giggled at that. "Oh, Minako-chan might be flighty, but that's just her. Her parents are too serious for her. Especially her father. I think that's why they don't get on sometimes."

That was what Katsura had wanted to know. The problem was it didn't help her disbelieve the crazy notions she had picked up from the Aino patriarch. "I see. Never mind then."

She put it out of her mind and brightened, especially in the wake of her daughter's small giggles. It felt like an age since she had last seen her smile. "Ami, since I am here, why don't we go out to dinner, the two of us. You didn't leave anything to drain, so you haven't eaten, have you?"

Ami shook her head. "No. I wasn't hungry."

Katsura nodded, that settling the issue. "Then let's go. Just for now you should try to relax. And so to I, for that matter."

Ami nodded. She needed to clear her head if she was ever going to sort out what she was going to do now. Assuming she could do anything. "Okay. Let's."

---

Rei was a diligent worker at their family shrine. She always had been, ever since she had first donned the red and white robes of a shrine maiden. Her enthusiasm had waned over time, to be sure, but out of that enthusiasm had grown a fond habit for her duties. Even the most boring of tasks, like sweeping those seemingly eternal stone steps, had become natural to her.

And, at those times of boredom that would have sent blonder girls screaming at the unfairness of the task, Rei was content to let her mind wander. Especially at those times when her head seemed so cluttered, like that morning. They had all found themselves in, to some degree or other, quite a difficult mess. And, to her mind, it only seemed natural to take some of that blame. She should have done more than just cower and scream when Desir had appeared. After all that time fighting against the demonette's influences, and this was all she had to show for it? It was sad really, she thought with a wry sense of self-deprecating humour. Just a bit pathetic.

But still, she had got off lightly. Unlike the girl who was climbing the steps to meet her. Rei felt bad for her, maybe more so than the others. No matter what happened now, the girl would just be pulled along for the ride. "Good morning Hotaru-chan," Rei greeted, giving her a wise and comforting smile. "How are you feeling?"

Hotaru didn't look very good if Rei told herself the truth. The girl had lost a lot of sleep that night, and she carried her hands together, down in front of her, looking very small and self-effacing. Rei hadn't seen her look like that since she had been moved up into high school.

"Rei-san," Hotaru said in a squeaking, apologetic voice. "I... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have treated you like that yesterday."

Rei shook her head and waved the apology off, her surprisingly light tone making Hotaru raise her head in surprise. "Don't worry about it," Rei replied with a smile, as if it was nothing. "It's not like I haven't been slapped before, and for a lot less than that! A good slap can make you feel better, right?"

"I shouldn't have blamed you though," Hotaru insisted.

Rei sighed. Hotaru could be so serious and worried at times, but she supposed it was only to be expected right now. "Why don't you come up to the shrine? We can have some tea."

Hotaru seemed shocked at the offer, but it sparked a glint of relief in her eyes. "You don't mind?"

"Why would I?" Rei responded, taking the girl's hand and marching her up to the torii gate. "We're friends!"

Rei was glad to finally see Hotaru smile at that, and the girl even flushed a little. Just a little. That made Rei smile. Just as it was easy to tease her, Hotaru looked just as adorable when embarrassed by praise or affection. Rei could see why Haruka was so often flirty with the younger girls if that was the reaction she got.

Their friendship was not simply one of proximity though. Hotaru had always tried to bridge the gap between 'outer' and 'inner' when they were not fulfilling their duties as Senshi, and in Rei she had found an unusual ally. They both had a power in common that set them out from their peers at school: Rei's precognitive sight and Hotaru's innate ability to heal. Where the others had little in common besides the fact that they worked and socialised together, the two of them had become firm friends because they knew was it was like to be different to some degree.

"So," Rei said as she poured the tea, the two of them sitting in the main room of the shrine, "do you want to talk about it?"

Hotaru looked down into her cup as it was handed to her. "I don't know. It hurts a little, knowing that Haruka-papa cheated. Even if there were reasons. I don't want to hate her, but it's mostly her fault."

"Sometimes we do hate the people we love most," Rei replied, "because we think they should know better."

Hotaru looked at her. "Do you think that way about Ami-san?"

Rei wondered about that, and why Hotaru had even thought of it. She supposed it was a simple bit of symmetry - almost logical in some respects. "No," she finally replied. "I don't think less of her. It has changed how I see her, but not for the better or worse. We all make our choices in love, knowing that we might get burned by them later."

"Isn't this a little too much?" Hotaru asked despondently. "Everyone is hurting now. I just want us to be a happy family again. I'm sure Michiru-mama wants that too. Even of she doesn't know how."

"And Haruka-san?"

Hotaru closed her eyes. "She didn't come home last night."

Rei's heart went out to the girl. Her own parental situation had rarely been ideal either, so she could imagine what Hotaru must have been going through. "Hotaru-chan..."

"Maybe it's for the best though," Hotaru said, actually trying to alleviate Rei's concern for her. "I was so angry at Haruka-papa. If she had come home I would just have wanted her to go away. Now, I just want her to come home after all."

"She will," Rei comforted, taking Hotaru's hands in her own. "After all the time she spent trying to get back to you, she won't be gone long. I bet she just needs time to think too."

---

"No. To be honest I'm glad of the space."

Usagi looked up from the cake she was icing so intently. "What? Really?" she asked. She was intrigued, but at the same time she was stepping carefully on the unsure ground.

"Is it that hard to believe?" Michiru replied simply. "I remember you saying a similar thing when you threatened to move back home."

"Oh, that. I see." It made sense when it was put like that. "I guess you really had a big fight. I'm sorry."

"Not a fight," Michiru corrected her, and she walked over and began to help sculpt the icing. "It has just been... very awkward. Especially around Hotaru."

"She's not here today either?"

Michiru shook her head. "No. It will do her good to get out of the house, and away from us. I don't want to talk to Haruka about the situation with Hotaru around. I would rather get any unpleasantness over with before we involve her."

"I can understand that," Usagi replied. It was all such a shame. "Do you know what you're going to do though? If it was me, I wouldn't know."

Michiru smiled, but only on the surface. "No, I don't know. I don't think I will until Haruka comes home. I know what I want, but I don't know if I can deal with it if I'm allowed it."

Usagi didn't want to ask - it felt so personal, prying into Michiru's private life - but her own worry won out over her unsteady discretion. "So, what do you want? Surely that would be a good thing, right?"

"I would like to think so," Michiru replied. "I want to get over this, and go back to a time when I was all that Haruka needed. Well, Hotaru and I were all she needed, and they were all I needed."

"But in reality," she sighed, "I don't even know if I can be there for her now, knowing that Ami-san has lain in that place. And knowing that Haruka received something from her that is more intimate and binding than I could ever offer. Even if it wasn't intended. Emotions are unreasonable like that sometimes."

Usagi nodded, deeply conflicted over how she should feel at that point. After all the time they had spent helping each other over the last months they had become very close friends, but she had to ask, even though she didn't like the answer she was expecting to hear.

"Are you going to make her get rid of the baby?"

Michiru took a deep breath. "If I could, I just might. But I know her too well to think that I could force her hand one way or the other this time. She'll choose the right thing to do."

"So, you think she will anyway?" Usagi asked sadly as she finished her icing. She didn't think that was very fair, but then it wasn't her body, or her family, who would have to deal with the consequences.

"Who knows what the right thing really is?" Michiru asked in return. "Haruka is so much more complicated than she ever says. That was part of why I liked her."

---

Evening had long since drawn in by the time Mamoru was finally allowed out of work. True, the only pressure he had been under was that his workmates and colleagues had all stayed late as well, but he was grateful when his overly diligent conscience let him call it a night.

He wished he had brought his bike. If anything he felt he was a little out of shape, so he had taken to travelling by public transport, which was giving him a good walk at either end of his journey, but that night it meant that he was going to be very late for dinner. Usagi had said she didn't mind on the phone, but even so he thought it was a little unfair.

Not that he had much choice. The busses were still running a good service, thankfully, so that was something, and at least he was not stuck with the usual rush hour scrum. In fact walking through Juuban park at the other end was positively peaceful. He could already smell Usagi's cooking in the yellow-orange illumination of the park lights.

Actually, he could smell a rather nice beef noodle of some sort, now that he thought about it. His stomach growled in anticipation, but he paid it no mind and turned his thoughts outward, down the path. On the bench, only a little way down, someone leaned back, his head lolling over the back as the box of noodles sat in his smartly dressed lap.

Mamoru was about to think nothing more of it, until he got a few steps closer, and realised that the shirt this young 'man' wore wasn't quite hanging right around 'his' chest.

"Haruka-san?"

Haruka lifted her head up and out of the shadows that fell behind the bench. "Hey," she greeted, though hardly sounding enthusiastic. "A little late for a walk isn't it?"

"A little late for dinner as well," Mamoru replied, looking at the box of slowly cooling noodles.

Haruka looked down at them herself. "You want them? I thought I was hungry, but..."

Mamoru shook his head, smiling slightly at the offer. "No thanks. I have an experimental pasta to get home to. Do you mind if I sit?"

Haruka grew a similar smile, and shook her head. "Dumpling must be getting more adventurous."

Mamoru took a seat, the pair of them sitting a casually safe distance from one another. "Usagi told me what happened," he said, after a moment's consideration.

Haruka let her head fall back again. "I thought as much."

"Everyone's worried about you."

Haruka cracked a wry smile. "Are you?"

"Should I be?" Mamoru countered.

Haruka didn't answer that. Not immediately anyway. "I don't know. It's none of your business."

Mamoru frowned, suddenly slighted. "Yes it is, Tenoh-san. It's my business because Usagi is going to do everything she can to be involved in helping you out of this mess. And I'll do what I can to help her do that. How you feel about me doesn't even enter into it."

"Hmmf," Haruka breathed. "You think you can solve all our problems just by standing there, as usual."

"Or rather," Mamoru pointed out, annoyed, "you just don't want help from a man."

Haruka glared at him. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Well," Mamoru said with a sigh, getting to his feet, "if you would rather sit here and wallow in your problems, that's your business." He decided to take a risk. "It's not as though they are such hard problems to figure out."

Haruka's head shot up and she stared at him with unrestrained anger. "W-what did you just say?! You don't know ANYTHING!!"

"True, but I probably know enough," he replied. "Usagi is very well informed. You might be one of the major victims in all this Haruka-san, but you hold all the cards. You just have to decide what you want. What you -truly- want. After that everything will slot into the places you have assigned."

"Do you even know what's going on!?" Haruka yelled, deeply confused by Mamoru's psychobabble. "There is no way to fix this! What I want doesn't even matter! I'm..." Her anger collapsed in on itself, leaving Haruka slumped on the bench in hopelessness. "There is no right choice. No matter what I do, everyone is going to end up hurt!"

"You've made decisions like that in the past," Mamoru reminded her. "They might not have been 'right', but to you they were -necessary-."

"I don't think I can do that any more. Not on my own."

Mamoru shook his head and sat back down, closer this time. A comforting distance. "Since when have you ever been alone? Yes, you are going to get hurt, so decide what you want. Who is more important to you? What is more important? Who do you want to hurt -least-? What are you -not- willing to sacrifice? You just have to decide what it is you want."

Haruka was silent for a long time. "I can't make that kind of choice when it's just about being selfish!"

"Then the person you are willing to hurt most is yourself. Given the circumstances, that is also going to hurt everyone else even more, even if you don't mean it to."

"But I can't have what I want!" Haruka exclaimed. "It's not possible."

"But you do at least know what it is," Mamoru said, trying to calm her. "Now you just have to decide how much of it you will allow yourself. After all, if it really was impossible, you wouldn't be entertaining the thought of it. We may not always get along, but I know you that well, I think."

They sat in silence for a moment as Haruka digested that. "So that's the man's perspective, is it?" Haruka asked, trying to be confrontational and not succeeding very well.

"That's the perspective of the most objective outsider you have," Mamoru replied. "If you can't have the happiest ending, look for the one that hurts you the least. No matter what you choose, even if it ends up crushing them at first, the others will forgive you for it. That's what they are like. Even Michiru-san, I would bet. They love you too much to hold it against you."

"Well," he said, getting to his feet and letting his voice slip back into a more casual tone, "that's enough of that for one night, wouldn't you agree? I have a new and exciting dinner to get home to. I hope you sleep well when you finally get there, Haruka-san. Preferably not out here though."

Haruka nodded, and stirred her chopsticks around in her lukewarm meal. It was time she started heading home too. "Tell Dumpling I'm okay, Mamoru-san. We don't want the ladies worrying."

Mamoru nodded, smiling slightly. "I will."

---

Rei reached up to Makoto's cheek, playfully running her fingers through the taller girl's hair. "I like it though," she said, wearing the baubled hair band on her wrist. "You should let it down more."

"It gets tangled though," Makoto justified, running her own fingers through Rei's hair as her girlfriend's head lay on her lap. "Not all of us have such well behaved hair. I don't know how you do it."

"Lots of tender loving care," Rei smiled cheekily. "You know, I never thought your hair was this curly."

"Only because you keep wrapping it around your fingers." Makoto wanted to get off the topic of her hair now. It was tickling her, and giving Rei far too much leverage on her. "Why did we even start talking about this?"

"Because I think you look good like this, and you're too stubborn to accept my kind flattery!"

Makoto sighed, switching track. "Anyway, I'm glad Hotaru-chan came. I know that upset you."

Rei's smile turned more gentle. "Yeah, well... She's a good kid. Can I still call her a kid?"

"As long as she's not around," Makoto answered. "Now come on, get off me. My legs are too long and they've gone to sleep!"

"Aww," Rei crooned, rolling over and letting Makoto stretch herself out on the polished wood of the shrine floor. "Poor Makoto's legs. You malign them too much."

Then, much to Makoto's pleasure, Rei began to massage those tingling calves with long, practiced stokes. "Mako-chan, you shaved today!"

"I shave every day!" Makoto replied, feigning some annoyance at the accusation. "Well, almost. I don't have a choice if I want to wear a skirt."

"Don't tell me you don't own any tights?"

Makoto nodded, telling the truth. "I haven't since... probably high school. They kept tearing and after a while I just gave up replacing them."

"Mmm," Rei said with a grin, "that means long socks for you!"

"Hey," Makoto said, lightly swatting at her before she grinned herself, "none of that!"

She pulled her legs away from Rei's touch and leaned up onto her knees, bringing her within reach of the teasing shrine maiden. "All better," she whispered, before leaving a quick kiss on Rei's lips. "Thanks."

"My pleasure," Rei winked, and Makoto kissed her again, this time letting it linger.

"I like this tea," Makoto whispered, wrapping her arms around Rei, and Rei blushed mightily.

"Don't say that when I haven't served you any!"

"Just a little bitter," Makoto prodded, taking the role of tease this time, "but not too much."

Rei shivered in anticipation as Makoto kissed the lobe of the ear that she whispered into. "Makoto..." She placed a kiss of her own, long and affectionate, onto Makoto's arched neck.

"I love you," Makoto whispered.

Those words brought out that rich, velvet blossom in Rei's chest again. She loved Makoto too, but she couldn't say it. The words caught in her throat, ready to insinuate far more than she wanted. Makoto's hands began to trace gently across her back and down her right side, smoothing out her robes against her skin. It was luxurious, Rei wanted nothing more than to let that touch closer to her, but that touch also brought with it the slow, emerging crawl in her stomach. As Makoto's next kiss landed gently and lovingly against her cheek the crawling grew stronger, no longer contained beneath the pleasant, romantic haze.

That conflict scared her. Somehow, she knew she was no longer safe. Not safe from Makoto, but safe from... herself? It wasn't Makoto's new, seductive touch, but her own reaction that made her struggle.

"M-Makoto... Makoto, wait..."

Her hands pressed against the girl's shoulders, forcing them away, but Makoto's thumb was already tracing the line of her robe around her collar. The crawl grew at the intimate contact, and Rei reacted. "Mako stop, please!"

She did. Rei looked up at Makoto's face and instantly felt guilty for it. "I-I'm sorry," Rei said suddenly, beating her girlfriend to the first word. "I just..."

Makoto looked as hurt as she felt, but worse was her confusion. Hadn't Rei wanted that? Why was it always these sudden changes of heart? "I don't get it. You were all over me before. I thought, you know, you were ready for this. Why are you always giving these mixed signals?!"

Rei was surprised to hear the growing anxiety in Makoto's voice. "Mako, it's not like that..."

"Then how is it?!" Makoto countered. "Tell me. Tell me how it is. I love you Rei, I mean it, but if you don't want to... If you don't want -me-, then just tell me! If that's it, if it's because it's me, then don't just humour me."

"No!" Rei called back as Makoto slowly got to her bare feet. "I do love you! I proved that! I proved it in Seiji. I'm just not ready. Not yet."

"But why?" Makoto asked, as if it was the most simple question in the world.

Rei could only look up at Makoto's confused face. "I don't know," she replied honestly. "I wish I did, but I don't."

Makoto closed her eyes. "I'll... call you tomorrow."

Every instinct in her body told her to do otherwise, but Rei let her go. Why was it only now that her body wanted Makoto to be there with her unconditionally? What was that supposed to mean? Rei knew she loved her, so why did Makoto's intimacy make her so uncomfortable? She even liked it, she knew that. It was just when that crawling inner conflict intruded... What was that?

---

Ami watched with curiosity as she sat cross legged on the bed, watching Makoto change. Her closest friend had always been experimental with her clothing, even when compared to clothes horses like Rei and Minako, and pyjamas seemed to be no exception. Aside from the multi-coloured leathers that Makoto had become so attached to Ami doubted if she had ever seen her in the same sleepwear more than once.

And between them all they had had their fair share of slumber parties and sleepovers.

That night it was comfort pyjamas, baggy and huge with yellow stars dotted around the pale green fabric. It was actively cute on a girl who must have been approaching five feet ten now, if she hadn't already got there. Ami didn't doubt that those clothes had been in the men's section when she had bought them, and Makoto had added the stars herself to hide the fact.

"When did you buy those?" she asked, making conversation. "I don't think I've seen them before."

Makoto looked around and shrugged, rather self conscious about the faint blush of Ami's cheeks. It wasn't the first time they had changed around each other after all. Not by a long shot. "They're old, I don't wear them much. They look a bit, uh, childish now. They're comfy though."

Ami nodded. "They still look good on you."

Makoto looked at her for a moment before shaking her head. "Thanks." Once she had buttoned up the shirt she took her own cross legged seat on the bed. "I mean thanks for coming over. I sort of needed some company."

Ami agreed with that sentiment. "Thank you for allowing me here."

"You too?"

Ami nodded. "Mother found out about Haruka-san. And Michiru-san and... the potential baby, and all of that."

Makoto swallowed hard. "About the Senshi?"

"No, not everything," Ami answered. "But I had to tell her about Desir. I think she suspects that I'm a murderer too."

"What?! But you're not!"

Ami didn't seem too worried about it, when Makoto actually looked properly. "Yes, I am. And I could see it in her eyes. I don't know how, but she knows. That worried pity." Makoto could see the mist in Ami's eyes as she said it. "I never wanted her to look at me like that."

"Ami-chan," Makoto comforted, "we did what we had to do. Most of us did a lot more damage than you did. And we all make mistakes."

"They weren't mistakes," Ami replied, simply, but with a sad sigh. "It wasn't a mistake to be with Haruka, and it wasn't a mistake to kill the people we killed. Mako-chan, it doesn't matter what you dress it up as. I wanted that man dead, and, thanks to Rei-chan and myself, he died. I've accepted that."

Makoto didn't believe that. Not if Ami's blue mood was anything to go by. "Have you? Rei hasn't, she's just being strong. I don't think Haruka-san's letting on how much her power affected her either. Probably Minako-chan too."

"And you?" Ami asked, almost hopefully.

Makoto gave Ami a dry smile, hoping to lift her spirit. "I got chucked out of school for getting caught fighting, remember? As long as it's for you guys, I can live with it."

Ami smiled back and sighed, wiping her eyes. "It's that easy?"

"Nope," Makoto grinned, "but it sounds good!"

"Seriously Mako-chan!" Ami let out, exasperated but fighting her own smile. "Seriously, how do you do it?"

"Easy," Makoto said. "They attacked us. They might have killed us. There's all the ideology and morality behind it, but that's enough for me. We had to be extreme, because we didn't have any choice."

Ami absorbed that slowly. "And what about love? How do you deal with that?"

That one knocked Makoto's happy mood down a little. "Uhh, badly," she quipped, though she thought it sounded rather lame for a joke. "I don't think you want my advice there Ami-chan. Rei is the first one I think I got right, and I might be screwing that up too."

It was only then that Ami remembered that it was Makoto who had invited her over. Of course she needed to talk. "Why?" Ami asked, switching easily into her supportive mentality.

"I got frustrated," Makoto answered, summing up her worries. "Rei... You don't mind if I tell you this stuff, do you?"

"No, go ahead," Ami said, correctly guessing what to expect. "It's okay."

"We were just lying around, and you've seen Rei like that. She gets all touchy-feely, playing around. And I like that, it's cute and kind of embarrassing, but in a good way. And we ended up making out, and that was fine. We were both really into it. And then she just put on the brakes, suddenly."

Ami gave her a gentle look. "Then maybe you are moving too fast for her?"

"Maybe," Makoto supposed, "I mean I know she wants to take it slowly, but all the signals she's giving out are fine. If she didn't want to make out she could say so and that'd be okay, but she doesn't say so. She didn't tell me to back off when I kissed her, and she was getting into it too. It wasn't like I was suddenly going to strip her naked and ravish her or anything."

"And it hurt," she finished. "I don't know what she wants from me, and I can't trust the signals I'm getting from her."

"Mako-chan, I know this may sound cruel, and I don't mean to be," Ami said carefully, "but has she said that she loves you? Not just replying when you told her the same?"

To her shame Makoto actually had to think about that. She couldn't remember. It wasn't something she had actually kept track of. But... "I think so. I'm sure she has." Then that one night came back to her. The night that had rocked her world. "In Seiji. Just before we came home, she..."

She blushed. "She did something that she said proved to herself that she loved me. I didn't say anything that time. I was too amazed."

Ami blushed hard as her mind made up for the missing images in Makoto's story. "So you have made love with her then."

Makoto flushed to match her. "No! I mean, I want to, but we haven't... It was just special."

Ami sighed, almost in disappointment, and nodded. "Then I think you're doing well, even if you don't think so. Rei wouldn't say that to you unless she meant it. I'm positive of that."

"So why all the mixed signals?"

Ami shook her head. "I don't know. That's something she will have to tell you for herself."

Makoto nodded in resignation. "Yeah, I guess. What about you? Are you holding up okay? I mean, with Haruka-san and everything, you have a lot at stake now."

Ami didn't reply directly to that. "That's what my mother said."

"So she's okay with this?"

"No, but she says that she'll try and support me, whatever I decide. If she can."

Makoto gave her a small smile. "That's good, right? And I'll support you too, you know."

Ami sighed and gave another shake of her head. "I would rather not have the support."

"What?" asked Makoto, confused. "Why?"

"I..." Ami said hesitantly, "Because I think I know what I want now. If Haruka is really pregnant, I want to be with her. I want to take responsibility, even if it's not our fault, because then we can be together. But where does that leave everyone else? I like Michiru-san and Hotaru-chan, but I still want Haruka for myself."

Makoto didn't have a comforting reply for that. "Ami-chan, someone's going to get hurt, even if it's just you. And I bet that would hurt Haruka-san too. So, whatever you decide, I will support you. Even if you want to be the one that gets hurt."

Ami felt her eyes getting moist again at Makoto's unflinching show of companionship. "Thank you, Mako-chan. But I don't think I can choose. Not without knowing what Haruka wants."

---

"You know, I was wondering where you had run off to."

Luna sat down behind her white furred compatriot and partner, watching him as he stared into the night sky. "We have a lot to do."

Artemis nodded, but felt strangely unmoved by her stoic voice. "Don't you think you were a little too hard on them Luna? And then running off like that?" He turned around and looked her in the eyes. "For once I really don't know what you were thinking."

Luna remained unrepentant, but her voice did soften at Artemis' chastisement. He was rarely confrontational with her, and this was about as cross as he ever sounded. "We have to put up a strong front Artemis. Believe me, it is not as though I enjoyed doing it."

"We always agreed that the girls should have as much freedom as they can," Artemis countered, no longer with that edge in his voice, but with a sad resignation. "Even Setsuna-san does, in her own strange ways."

"I still believe that, Artemis." Luna said, padding up next to him on the roof. "But we have so much to do, our girls included. They have too much on their minds right now to see the big picture. I know you can see that."

Artemis nodded reluctantly. "And what can we do about it? The 'Haruka situation' is out of our hands, and you've made sure that Mako-chan isn't going to listen to us without wanting to be rebellious."

Luna shook her head. "I will apologise to them when we are all safe again. Right then, forcing the matter was all I could think of. It will at least focus their minds on one problem at a time. I want them to be happy, but we need them fit to fight, and at the moment only Usagi-chan, Mamoru-kun, Minako-chan and Setsuna-san seem capable of that. And you know how sympathetic Usagi-chan can be to our enemies, which won't help given who we are up against."

Artemis nodded again. "The Dark Kingdom."

"If we can get our girls to sort out their private lives soon, then it will be for the best."

"Even if it robs them of the chance to make the right choices?"

Luna gave him a rather lost looking smile. "Can any choice they make be considered 'right' or 'wrong'? A girl's heart is not quite so simple. Especially when the lines of friendship and love become blurred."

Artemis returned that smile, but with a confidence that gave Luna a little more strength. "Don't I know it!" he said, nuzzling against her cheek.

Luna blushed slightly beneath her black fur. "Stop it. Anyway, we need to fill in for our soldiers right now. Right?"

"I'm already working on my part," he replied. "Just let me know what you're up to, instead of just running off next time. We're fighting three different battles on three different fronts. I was worried."

Luna acceded to that. "I didn't think of it that way, but I suppose love makes for quite a battlefield at times. Especially right now. That's why I would rather they didn't get involved with each other this way. At least the scars caused by our enemies are only skin deep."

"Exactly," Artemis said, "so be careful. I'd rather not have you end up caught in the emotional crossfire again. Even if it was your own fault last time."

Luna just looked out into the sky, as Artemis had been doing when she found him. "I can live with being distrusted. Just as long as they come out of this together."

Artemis shook his head, and followed Luna's gaze. "Yeesh. Give me a youma to stare down any day."

"Don't tempt providence," Luna sighed. "We still have to find them too you know."

---

At that same time, lit only by the Tokyo streetlights, the delivery girl with no surname arrived back at her company's warehouse. She doubted there was much call for ketchup deliveries at midnight, but then she also doubted that anyone actually cared. At least she was good at this job. The name tag on her red and white striped uniform said Miyama, but once she had unloaded her scooter and stepped inside that little plastic pin lost its purpose.

Myoshiya didn't need her disguise now, and let her arms unfold from somewhere beneath her shirt. "I'm home," she called out into the darkened warehouse, though it was something of a misnomer.

A flash of bright green sparks showered out from the darkness. "Welcome back," came the soft, slightly nasal reply of her most technically minded sister.

"Shivis, do you always have to work with the lights off?"

"Yes." Another shower of green sparks erupted out over Shivis' vast, shadowed device. "It keeps my mind functioning at one hundred percent."

"Well I can't see in the dark," Myoshiya replied, flicking on the switch by the door. "I have presents though." She looked up at the device. "It's... bigger again."

"Of course," Shivis replied as she crawled out from a hatch in the vast shell of the contraption. "Did you think our trump card would simply sit in my pocket? You said that we lack the power to take this city from its defenders. This," she gestured with one feather-lined arm, "will give us more power than you can imagine."

She gave Myoshiya a piercing smile. "My gate device was not strong enough, but this time I will give us the planet!"

Myoshiya was impressed that such a quietly spoken woman could sound so confident. "It still looks like a spiky turtle shell though."

Shivis' smile faded, to be replaced with a twitch and a very long suffering look. "Don't start, sister dear. I get enough of that from Tyranya."

Then, from the catwalk above their heads, the aforementioned devil replied. "You are brilliant Shivis, but you simply have no taste!"

Shivis didn't even bother to look up. "Thank you, captain. You really know how to make a girl feel appreciated."

Tyranya laughed, jumping over the rail to join them. "Don't pout sister, it doesn't suit you. Now, I hear we have progress?"

"Yes captain," Myoshiya replied. She presented Tyranya with her wire rack of ketchup bottles. "Maxill is doing well, despite her loss."

Tyranya took one of the squeeze bottles and unscrewed the top. Inside was the progress she was looking for. She up-ended the bottle and out slipped the crystal, a roughly hexagonal oblong, slightly pointed at each end. It glowed faintly, giving off a yellow-green iridescence. No matter how many of them Tyranya saw, they still seemed beautiful to her.

She handed the crystal to Shivis. "Another for your work." Then she turned back to Myoshiya. "So how is Maxill faring now? I trust sending Aretsuki to aid her is helping?"

"Somewhat," Myoshiya replied. "I think that the company is doing her a great deal of good, but to lose a twin... She will not recover so easily. She does not let out her anger."

"At this stage that is a benefit," Tyranya thought aloud. "Though I suppose we must relieve her in time, so that she can grieve."

Myoshiya nodded. "But she is working well, and drawing a great deal of energy. Enough to keep some in reserve for herself and Aretsuki, and still send this much to you." She hefted the wire rack again, and the seven other bottles that sat in it.

"And Kaizi?"

Myoshiya sighed. "She puts me to shame. Her plan, even if it is so simple, has become huge. Perhaps not as vastly productive as Maxill's, but she will never be found. It scares me how well she can slip into the role of a human, and make that human so successful even by their standards. I will collect her delivery tomorrow."

"Good work Myoshiya. We should have let you fill this role from the start. You make for an excellent courier. You even learned to pilot that human contraption."

The many limbed woman blushed and lowered her head at the praise. "Thank you captain. I am only sorry that my first enterprise was such a disaster."

"Not as much of one as you think, sister," Tyranya replied, sounding pleased. "We have information on our only enemies now. We know that we cannot best them in battle without help, especially since they have multiplied. If five was enough to destroy our world, how can we six hope to defeat ten of them? That is valuable knowledge."

"And you say that they were conflicted during your escape. That they have problems among themselves is another boon, which we must exploit. Perhaps they have not found us because we have not seemed to be too great a threat, and they have bigger problems of their own to deal with."

She smiled widely, showing off her slender fangs. "With luck, even if we cannot gather much information on them, their ignorance and disinterest in us will be enough. When our machine is finished, and we have enough sustenance for it to start up, nothing these murderous girls do will be enough to slay even one more of us!"

"Don't forget, sister," Shivis added, "we need sustenance too." She gave the crystal back to her captain. "We are doing well, after all. We can afford not to be so frugal."

Tyranya looked at their reticent genius before nodding. Then she brought the crystal to her thin, painted lips, and drank.

---

To Be Continued...

---

Please leave a review with any comments and criticisms you have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.

(c) Nutzoide 2007


	6. One Little Wish

Shooting for the Moon: Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

---

Shooting for the Moon

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 5: One Little Wish...

The Weaving of Threads has Begun!

Usagi and Ami drew stares as they walked through the neighbourhood. They were actually used to it now, after all that media attention over their extra-dimensional escapades, but this time it was for a very different reason. One that Usagi didn't enjoy quite so much, and Ami tried very hard to ignore.

But the passers by stared from a distance. Nobody asked questions or pressed them for information. Thanks to the little magazine article and all the news it had spawned, full of supposition and gossip over Ami's potential indiscretions, many people had all the information they thought they needed. Ami was not someone to be seen associating with.

Needless to say that infuriated Usagi no end. She took Ami's hand, defying their disapproving and condescending eyes. "Hmmph, what do they know anyway?!" she said, far too loudly so that everyone could hear, even those who had crossed the street to pass them at a respectable distance. "They can believe in whatever stupid rag-magazines they want."

Ami sighed. She knew Usagi meant well, but right then she was actually relieved to be left alone, rather than being asked to comment on the 'affair'. That was a double edged word that one supposed journalist had used upon cornering her as she had returned to her apartment that morning, with questions over where she had been. She had stayed quiet, as Minako had suggested when they first returned to Tokyo, but she had at least admitted that she -hadn't- been with 'Tenoh-san'. The last thing either of them needed was more speculation on those matters, she thought.

"Usagi-chan, that's enough now," she said in her quiet voice. "I don't have anything to prove." She smiled, to assuage the girl's protective concern. "I know who my friends are, and that is enough."

"Ami-chan..."

That mollified Usagi a great deal, and they walked the rest of the way with a quiet, companionable air, no longer paying attention to the world around them until they got to Usagi's house. Or rather, her parents' house.

With a cheeky grin Usagi reached out and pressed the doorbell. And kept it pressed, until the door was flung over by an irate looking Ikuko. "Will you PLEASE cut that... USAGI!!"

In only point three of a second, as best as Ami could guess, Usagi was wrapped in a bone crushing hug which the girl returned in kind. "Hi Mum!"

"I should have known it would be you!" her mother replied, mixing a good amount of annoyance with her happy smile as they tortured each other. Ami even thought she saw Usagi beginning to turn blue before the pair let each other go.

"Why don't you ever call us? I have such an inconsiderate daughter," Ikuko said, still keeping both her air of annoyance and her smile.

"Mum, I visit you almost every week!"

Ikuko gave her daughter a deadpan stare. "You come and visit your -cat- almost every week. Honestly, I don't know why I even bother, young lady."

Then, in the blink of an eye, her attitude turned on its head as she greeted Ami, polite and hospitable. "Ami-chan, it is so lovely to see you again. Thank you for putting up with my good-for-nothing daughter for all this time. I dread to think what would have become of her without your help."

"Muuuum!" Usagi whined, sounding extra pitiful for a girl who had turned twenty only two months before.

Ami just smiled, holding back her giggles, and bowed. "Tsukino-san, Usagi-chan is the best friend anyone could hope to have," she said with sincerity.

Ikuko was glowing, and her voice settled into a far more normal tone. "Well... at least she has that. Please, come in, both of you. I'll bring some cake up to your room Usagi."

Ami looked at her friend as she was led inside. "Your room?"

Usagi nodded, no longer in the least affected by that playful little display with her mother. "They say it's in case I ever want to move back."

Then, strangely for her, that sentence hung until the pair of them had reached Usagi's room. Ami's eyebrows furrowed a little in confusion over the unexpected lapse into silence until Usagi twirled around and sat heavily on her old bed.

"I did want to come back, once," Usagi said. "It was a little after you all got banished. I suddenly found that I didn't have any friends left, and I guess I went a bit weird!"

"Usagi-chan..." Ami said, shocked at what she was being told as she sat down next to her friend. "You have friends. At college, at your clubs..."

Usagi shook her head simply. "You guys are my friends. There are lots of people I like at school, but we don't go out and do things like friends do. They have dates to go on, or studying to do if they're bright like you, and I have Mamoru to come home to. Without all of you there to talk to on the phone, or make time for, it just didn't seem fun like it did.

"When I tried to talk to Mamoru about it I just sounded childish and selfish, and he started getting annoyed, even though I didn't know why. It turned into a really big fight. I told him I wanted to come back home, and he said 'fine'."

"Usagi-chan..."

Usagi gave her a smile. "We were both being stupid. I called Michiru-san, because I didn't have anyone else left to call, and I think Mamo-chan did something like that too with his work friends. After that it all seemed better again. I just needed something to do besides school work and trying to be a wife, because it's not as easy as it looks in the manga!"

"So you asked Michiru-san to teach you to cook," Ami finished for her.

"Actually she offered to teach me," Usagi said. "She wanted someone there too."

Even if it wasn't meant that way, that last sentence made Ami feel guilty. Michiru did deserve better than she was willing to give. "Usagi-chan..."

Usagi waited, looking curious but with a lot more depth in her big, blue eyes. "Yes?"

"... I'm sorry for letting you down."

Usagi's mask of curiosity turned genuine there. "Why? You haven't let anyone down."

Ami smiled at her friend's apparent naivete. "I didn't want to be selfish," she explained, that smile fading as she confessed. "I didn't want to hurt Michiru-san or Hotaru-chan. But I knew what I was doing. I knew I might fall in love, because I'm not good at it." She blushed a little. "I should have stuck with romantic novels."

She sighed. "But I wanted to be loved, just for one night, by someone I respected and trusted. Even if it was just pretend. I hoped I could leave it at that, but I couldn't. I can't. And if it all goes wrong, I've realised that I might do something selfish again."

She looked over to Usagi, waiting to receive judgement from the most pure and idealistic heart among them all.

Usagi just looked thoughtful, and flopped back to rest her head on her old pillow, staring at the ceiling. "Love is difficult sometimes, isn't it?"

That confused Ami no end. Was Usagi implying something? How was she supposed to respond?

In the end she just said what she felt. "Yes, it is."

Usagi smiled, but it seemed a little wistful to Ami. "Everything has got so complicated," Usagi said, "but that doesn't mean you've let us down, Ami-chan. I fell in love with someone I shouldn't have too, you know."

Ami blinked. "W-what?"

She didn't know how else to respond. It had always been Usagi and Mamoru, even at the beginning when they had been on less than happy terms outside their battles.

"But I think," Usagi continued, "that it's never wrong to love someone, as long as you do what's right when it comes down to it. When Mamoru was away, in all our fights against Galaxia, I wanted to stay faithful to him, even though I never got any letters. I didn't know something had happened. I just tried to have faith."

She shook her head. "Then that stupid Seiya came along, and made everything even harder."

Ami listened wide eyed. She remembered the Starlights all too clearly. They had certainly cost her enough credibility among her friends over her cripplingly faux resistance to pop culture.

"So, if you let us down, then I let us down first. I didn't want to fall in love with him... her... whatever, but it wasn't my choice. I just did." She sat back up and gave Ami an awkward smile. "I mean, I never slept with him or anything, I was saving myself for Mamo-chan, but if I had been given the chance at just the wrong time..."

Ami just looked at her. On one level she was so very relieved that Usagi of all people knew what she was going through, but on the other hand... "I don't know if I can make the right choice," she said.

Usagi leaned over and gave her a hug. "You will. I know what you're like. If you don't think you can make the right choice, you won't choose at all, will you?"

Ami just nodded against Usagi's shoulder and Usagi sighed.

"And personally I think letting Haruka-san choose is the right choice! So there, everything's fine! Well, it's not, but I'm not disappointed. I'm proud of you Ami-chan."

Ami couldn't believe how happy it made her to hear those words. "Usagi-chan, thank you!"

Usagi let her go, and the pair beamed at each other for the moment before Ikuko's voice echoed up to the room.

"Usagi?! Come and help me carry the tea!"

Usagi sighed. "Eh. Duty calls. I'd better say 'hi' to Daddy and Shingo too, or else they'll moan at me!"

She was smiling to herself all the way to the kitchen. She had been meaning to tell Ami that story since Makoto had suggested it, but it was such a difficult subject to bring up. Today it had just come together on its own. She couldn't have planned it better!

Then she entered the kitchen, and found both her parents there, her mother still pouring the tea. "Huh? Hi Daddy. What's up? Actually, where's Shingo? Is he on another date?" She grinned at the thought of her little brother doing so well after getting together with his old playground sweetheart, even with so many other crushes in between times, including Ami of all people! She would have to tease him about it again later.

"Yes, you brother is out on a date," her mother said, but without her previous levity. "And Luna in out prowling somewhere I would guess. It is Ami-san we would like to ask you about though."

"Ami...-san?" Usagi's face slowly grew stony. "Don't you even dare think about her like that Mum! How can you even believe those rumours?!"

"This isn't about the rumours," her father replied, the newspaper folded in his lap as he sat at the kitchen table. "This is about you, Usagi. We like Mizuno-san, but you were not exactly low key about your association with her, given recent events."

"I don't believe this!"

"It's very simple Usagi," Ikuko said, taking the tray of tea in her hands. "Do you believe in her? No matter what?"

"Because for all your bad reports we know you are good at knowing people. If you do believe in her," Kenji added, "then we can be satisfied that this will all get worked out, and will just blow over in time. And that's the only way you will come out of this with a good reputation."

Usagi knew to take this seriously. It wasn't often that her parents earnestly pointed out her skills, non-academic as they were, unless it really mattered either to them of to her.

"I believe in her," Usagi replied, her face set. "And, for the record, I don't care what people think. She's my friend."

Ikuko motioned for her to pick up the tray of beautifully cut cakes. "And if you end up having to side with either her or Kaioh-san?"

Usagi took the tray. "I believe in them both, and I'll help them both whenever they need me to. It will all work out, because that's what everyone wants!"

Ikuko nodded, both her and her husband feeling a rare surge of pride for their contrary little girl. "Good. Let's not keep your guest waiting then."

---

Makoto stood at the bottom of the Hikawa Shrine steps, looking up the vast, ziggurat-like stonework. Just as Ami had forced herself to return home that morning, to spend some of her copious free time with Usagi, Makoto was forcing herself to use her own time outside working at the noodle bar to make up with Rei. After all, it was Makoto that knew she was pushing her own romantic interests onto her girlfriend. She knew that she had - as usual when it came to her impatient heart - been rather inconsiderate. If Rei didn't know why she was feeling the way that she was, then why should Makoto expect to?

Except she wasn't going up those steps. She had come down them. Grandpa Hino was as accommodating as ever, but in his wisdom he had sent Rei on errands for the day, since she had said she had some of her own to do. Their reconciliation would have to wait it seemed, and just when Makoto was most eager to make up. It was frustrating, knowing that Rei was within her reach, somewhere in Tokyo, but being unable to even see her. Be it the awkwardly confrontational Rei, or the flippant and playful one, Makoto wouldn't have minded. Just saying that she was sorry for being stupid would have made her feel better.

But there was nothing she could do about it, so she just sighed and stuck her hands into the pockets of her heavy, hooded fleece. It was far too hot to be wearing it really, but it was another of those baggy comfort clothes she liked.

"Mako-chan! Hi."

Makoto turned to see Haruka, her own hands in her trouser pockets, looking surprised to see her there. "Haruka-san! I'm glad you're okay. Usagi phoned and said you'd gone home. You shouldn't worry us like that!"

Haruka smiled and shrugged. "You have my apologies for worrying you, Mako-chan." Haruka said with a rakish smile. "It won't happen again."

Makoto blushed instinctively, her natural resistance overcome by her happiness at seeing Haruka looking more like herself. "Haruka-san! You're feeling better?"

The androgynous young woman nodded. "Somewhat."

"So, what brings you out here?" Makoto asked, making conversation to take her mind off Rei's unexpected absence.

"I thought I might seek a little spiritual guidance from our resident shrine maiden," she half-joked, before seeing Makoto's face fall a little. "Ah, I suppose she isn't at home? Or did something happen..."

"Both," Makoto admitted. "Actually I came to apologise, but I guess it will have to wait until tomorrow. Grandpa Hino said that she won't be home until late."

Haruka's own face fell a little there. "Ah, I see. I'm sorry to hear it," she added for Makoto's benefit.

"Oh, it's okay," Makoto reassured her. "It leaves me with nothing to do this morning though. I'd worked myself up for a good apology! You know, I know I'm not as good at it as Rei-chan, but I'll try and help, if you want?"

Haruka gave her a smile. "Just for something to do?"

"Well, it's not like I'm trained for it or anything," Makoto said, this time the one with the humour, "but I think it's about time I get to try and help you, right? You've done enough role-modelling for me, so you've got the credit balance!"

Haruka let out a small chuckle. "Alright then. How about the park?"

Makoto nodded, and it didn't take them long to get there. The place was pretty crowded with everyone on school holiday, but they managed to find a nice patch of grass to stretch out on, out of the way of the general human traffic.

"So," Makoto finally prompted, "what was it about?"

"The baby, actually."

Makoto found herself growing a little unsteady in that warm, motherly way as she heard that. "So Desir was telling the truth after all?"

"Of course she was," Haruka nodded, noticing Makoto's eyes straying to her stomach as she lay there on the grass. "But Luna was right you know. I bought a test kit that evening, but I couldn't actually bear to use it. That's why I didn't want to go home. I knew, but I didn't want the confirmation."

Then Makoto put a worried two and two together in her head. "And you wanted 'guidance' about it..." She sighed, and paused for a moment as she thought. It went against all her instincts, but she had to speak the truth of the situation if she was going to be of any help. "You know, you could always..."

She didn't get a chance to finish as she hesitated.

"Ami wouldn't mind in the least if I did, would she?" Haruka asked, rhetorically, and with more than a trace of wistfulness in her voice.

"No," Makoto replied truthfully, "she wouldn't mind. As far as she is concerned, this is all up to you. If you don't want the baby, she won't hold it against you, even for a moment."

Haruka had known that, but it was something else entirely to have her thoughts confirmed yet again. She found herself staring at the sky.

"I want it."

The next thing she knew she was flat on the ground, her elbows knocked from under her as Makoto hugged her. M-Mako-chan?"

Makoto just squeezed her. "I didn't think you'd actually say that! I'm so happy for you!"

"Umm, it's a little hot for this," Haruka said, gently prying the girl off her. "How can you wear that thick thing in this weather?"

"This?" Makoto pinched at her fleece. "I don't know. I like it. And I don't have to worry about anyone staring at my boobs." Then she realised what she was saying. "Huh, what are you talking about Haruka-san! This is great! You're going to have a baby!"

"I know," Haruka replied. "And you have no idea how much trouble it's going to cause."

Makoto quietened down and looked rather sheepish. "Sorry. I know. I'm just glad. I didn't want you to hate what's happened, even if it means Desir was right."

Haruka looked annoyed by that. "She knew what she was doing. It's like she said. 'Wish granted'. She knew."

Makoto blinked at her. "You wanted to have a baby?"

Haruka didn't answer that for a long while. "Maybe not under these circumstances. But I played with dolls when I was a kid too, you know. I was raised like everyone else, to be the wife. I wanted a family, and a child or two of my own. Hell, my parents were rich, they lavished all that role-modelling crap on me."

Then her mood turned more sombre. "But I liked cars, and bikes. My first bicycle was my prized possession, and I was bought it because I was their precious daughter, who shouldn't want for anything. Then I liked sports, and I wanted to wear clothes that let me play them. Skirts and dresses just felt stupid. You can't run properly in a skirt. I didn't know I was supposed to choose one side or the other. I liked the best parts of each.

"Then I liked girls, and suddenly I was weird. I found out I wasn't supposed to like cars the way the boys did, and being good at sport made me look 'strange' because I had muscles you could see. That was made even worse because I felt so awkward in 'proper clothes', and I kept my hair so short. And if I liked girls I couldn't have a family, or children, because people don't work that way."

Makoto felt terrible for her. "Haruka-san..."

"I got used to it though. I stopped caring what people thought, because I liked being strange. I embraced it, made the most of it, and just had to accept that I needed to sacrifice my stupid, childish dreams if I was going to be myself."

She smiled finally as she looked over to Makoto. "And now look at us. I have a family, and a daughter of my own. Hell, I prefer being the 'father'. It suits me. And Hotaru might not be mine by blood, but she's mine in spirit."

"But," she added, "actually having a child of my own... with someone I love... I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I turned that down. Not a moment went by that I wished I could have taken Master Daltass up on his offer, when he said it was possible to have a child with Ami-chan. I hated myself for turning him down just because I wanted it to be Michiru's instead."

"But you made the right choice then," Makoto encouraged. "Any of us would have done the same."

"But that doesn't mean I liked it," Haruka replied. "Now that it's come to this I can't deny myself. It's not fair to any of them, but I want to have this child. Even if I really hate the whole 'pregnancy and birth' prospect!" she added, trying to lighten the tone.

Makoto smiled. Whatever else it meant, she was truly glad for Haruka. She had never known this side to her had existed. "You're tough," she joked in kind. "You'll manage fine." And her smile became that bit wider, and that touch more heartfelt. "I bet you'll be a great Mum."

Haruka grinned, despite herself. "Well, I doubt that, but if you say so. It's the rest of my family I'm worried about, because I've decided what I want, but I still don't know what to do now."

That brought Makoto to a halt. She had no idea either, and she doubted her usual 'whatever will be, will be' approach was even remotely useful in these strange circumstances.

"Uh, Mako-chan," Haruka asked, breaking the silence, "can you keep that little rant of mine to yourself please? I would rather keep those things personal."

Makoto nodded. She already felt privileged that she had been told it at all. "Cross my heart."

Haruka have her a small, honest smile. "Thanks. It's just one less thing for me to worry about if my childhood is safely under lock and key."

---

Across in the centre of Tokyo, Myoshiya looked up that the large building as she parked her scooter. She shivered at the thought of Kaizi being there, among so many humans, but she picked the box off the back of her vehicle and headed inside, swallowing down her moral revulsion. She walked up to the reception desk, and tried very hard not to look at the cheerful human girl behind it.

"I have a delivery for Katahashi-san."

After checking Myoshiya's fake nametag the secretary actually smiled at her. The ignorant girl. "Ah, you are expected. Please take it straight up, floor four," she said, pointing towards the lifts.

"Thank you," Myoshiya forced out, keeping her composure. It was hard enough, but her second and third rows of arms were beginning to ache now, being kept hidden and magically ignored beneath her shirt. She walked through the gym that made up the building's ground floor a little too fast, and it was with a great sigh of relief that the elevator doors closed behind her. She pulled those hidden arms out of their magical bubble and stretched them down her sides. "Ahh, that's so much better!"

And, as she had expected, Kaizi was there to greet her as the doors opened on the fourth floor. Also as expected, but rather more worryingly, Kaizi was still in her human disguise. She had the whole office floor to herself and she still kept up the magic and the act.

That was scary.

The business suited youma smiled widely. "Myoshiya, I was wondering when you would get here! You're looking good for a human, even with those arms!"

Myoshiya resisted the urge to pout, but she did at least have a playful poke in return. "So do you Kaizi, even with those muscles!"

Even disguised Kaizi could not have been mistaken for any normal woman. Her suit was cut to accommodate her huge, muscular chest and similarly impressive limbs. Her hair, normally so spiky and luxuriously green, was now black and slicked back over her head, and her kind but intense eyes still burned, even if they had lost their natural glow. Among the humans, she was taken for an ex-fighter or wrestler who had returned from the ring to turn her keen mind to sports management.

"You've come a long way in such a short time," Myoshiya complimented. Even with their touchy banter Myoshiya still looked up to one of their best warriors, and the only true fighter of their people left now. "Captain Tyranya is very proud of your achievements."

Kaizi shook her head, smirking at Myoshiya's flattery. "No more than any of you. Give yourself some credit girl. You had guts to volunteer to hunt for the Sailor Senshi after they ambushed you like that."

"N-not really," Myoshiya replied, embarrassed by the praise. "It should be my responsibility for failing to even harm them."

Kaizi smirked again, clapping Myoshiya on the shoulder and nearly bowling the multi-limbed girl over. "Ha! And that's the kind of tenacity that'll win us this battle!"

Myoshiya sighed internally. Being around humans so much must have been affecting her larger companion. Such overconfidence was too much, even for Kaizi's competitive nature. "Sister, you should take some time off and see us. You would wonder at Shivis' latest machine, and I know Maxill needs the time too. We are doing well, and soon I will start tracking the Sailor Senshi in earnest. We will need you then."

Kaizi's eyes locked onto her younger 'sister', and her voice briefly lost its flippant overtones. "Myoshiya, I cannot slack here. The humans are more perceptive than that. It is not they who draw me in, but I who have taken them to my side. We will have the power, thanks to Shivis and Maxill, we will have our prey thanks to you and little Aretsuki, but there is more to war than the wielding of power and the uncovering of your enemies. When we kill the Sailor Senshi, we must also take this world as our own, or else perish in the wake of our greatest victory."

She stood up tall and proud, and even constrained by her magical disguise her great form gave her more authority and gravity than any human could have projected. "That is where our Queen and our generals failed. They, in their own ways, sought to either win the battle or win the war, but perished from the one that they let slip through their fingers. We cannot afford even one of their mistakes."

"Kaizi," Myoshiya said, shocked, "h-how can you speak of them like that?!"

"Because it is true," Kaizi replied, laying a hand on Myoshiya's shoulder. "They failed, and our world died because of it. If we cannot surpass them, great and worthy as they were, then we are doomed. If revenge is all we can manage, then so be it, but we must strive to live beyond it. We do not deserve extinction."

Myoshiya could only stare in awe. This was why she had to face her fears, and hunt those that could kill her in the blink of an eye. That determination was not borne of ego, or pride, or any of those vices Myoshiya despised. It was determination of the heart.

"Kaizi. I... I'll do my best!"

The muscular youma reached down beside her desk and handed Myoshiya the return package, her smiling, flippant air returning to her face. "Here. It is not as much as Maxill is providing I am sure," she said, "but it will see Shivis through for a little while longer! Good luck to you."

And as Myoshiya turned to go Kaizi took one of the girl's free hands, halting her in her tracks and giving her a wink. "Oh, and stop off at the place next door before you go. Even if human food is useless to us, their 'ice cream' is well worth the time!"

---

Sitting at her coffee table Michiru looked at her guest with apologetic eyes. "I was a little surprised to get your call," she admitted. "I don't have much to offer in the way of hospitality I'm afraid."

Rei wondered about that, as she looked at the cup of lemonade in her hands. Michiru always seemed to be prepared, even when she wasn't. "Don't be," she replied. "I know things are pretty difficult with you right now. Do you know if Haruka-san is okay?"

Michiru closed her eyes and nodded. "She is. She came home last night."

Rei blinked at her host's melancholic attitude. "That is a good thing, right?"

Michiru granted her a small smile. "Yes. Though she could have let me know, rather than leaving a note."

That made Rei realise what Michiru was thinking. "I thought she would be more sensitive than that."

Michiru shrugged. "That is Haruka for you. She is not always the most empathic of women. Still, at least she did come home. But that's not the reason you are here, is it Rei-chan?"

"No," the girl admitted. "I know it's not the best time, but I kind of need some advice."

Michiru raised an eyebrow. Rei was on the more confident and independent end of the scale, as far as their group of friends was concerned. "Oh? How can I help?"

Not that it was a question she hadn't already guessed the answer to. To her surprise though, Rei seemed uncomfortable about letting it out.

"Actually, I don't know," Rei admitted after a pause. "It's about Mako-chan and me, and..."

"And I was the most obvious person to come to about your more Sapphic issues," Michiru finished for her.

"It's more that I don't know who else I can tell," Rei said. "I mean, I respect your insight, but..."

"Again, you would rather talk to someone who knows a little about it to begin with," Michiru pre-empted again. It was a little annoying for her, being relegated to 'only potential lesbian confidant', but this was hardly the first time it had happened. "You could also have asked Haruka. You have grown quite close I'm sure, during your time away."

"But I'd rather have more level headed advice," Rei justified. "I like Haruka-san a lot, but I need help, not flirting tips. She'd just embarrass me. And even if she could resist the urge she's probably got her head full enough already."

And Michiru hadn't? Then again, Michiru could see her point. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you off. I suppose I'm glad that you want to talk to me about such things."

Rei looked at her, wondering how she might have slighted the older girl. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I? I mean, I'd probably trust you more than any of the others. With personal stuff I mean."

"Even Ami-san?" Michiru asked. "I know the two of you have been friends for longer than either of you have known the rest of us. Even Mako-chan."

Rei didn't follow that train of thought though. "You know, I think Ami-chan feels hurt when you call her that. I know what she did, but still. You were good friends, even when things were awkward."

This time it was Michiru's turn not to answer the question. She knew it was true, but then the issue was still too raw for her. "I'm sorry, Rei-chan, I keep distracting us. What was it you wanted my help with?"

Rei sighed, giving up and getting back to the reason she was here. Regardless of their other problems and friendships, she did still trust Michiru implicitly about this. "Yeah. I guess I just want to know, is it possible to be in love with someone, even if it goes against your sexuality?"

Michiru looked at Rei more closely. "You mean, is it possible for a straight girl to fall in love with a woman, or a lesbian to fall for a man?"

It sounded exceptionally stupid, being said back to her. "Uh, yeah, something like that."

Michiru kept up her gaze for a few more moments before replying. "Simply by virtue of being in love with another woman, then you can't be heterosexual, Rei-chan. That is the nature of the definition. Does it bother you that you might not have a preference for either gender?"

"No, that's not it," Rei replied, sounding agitated as she tried to explain herself. "Haven't you... before Haruka-san, didn't you ever find a boy attractive, and wanted to be together, but couldn't because you were gay?"

Michiru paused, taking that in. "No, that has never happened to me, Rei-chan. I know which men I consider attractive, but I have no desire to go beyond teasing them at times. Haruka is similar, but does the same to those who are safely 'off limits'. She teases the cute, younger girls, but it does not equate to romantic affection."

Rei looked down at her drink, her heart growing heavy. That was a blow to her esteem. "I see."

"If I may ask it plainly," Michiru added, "you feel that you love Mako-chan, but are not actually attracted to her, sexually?"

"Yes." The Rei hesitated. "No, that not it. I don't know! Of course she's sexy, but when we make out..." She sighed. "Something stops me. I feel so uncomfortable, and I panic. And I don't know why."

Again, Michiru thought, that seemed very unusual for the confident and outgoing Rei. "And you know you love her, for certain. You have not just persuaded yourself that it is best for you to?"

"No! Absolutely not! I thought about that," Rei explained, "and I know I'm not just playing around, and it's not guilt, or obligation, or anything like that! She's done a lot for me, and maybe that's why we ended up close, but I just want to be with her now. It's too selfish to be anything else. I want her to be happy because of me, but I also want her for myself, and I want her to make -me- happy!"

How very similar, Michiru thought, recognising her own current emotions in what Rei said. "But you think her being female might be what is putting you off going the distance."

Rei nodded. "I thought so. It's not like I'm looking at any other girls and thinking how much I'd like them to hold me."

"Maybe you are just too pre-occupied with Mako-chan to notice," Michiru said with a slight smile, keeping her own emotions well in check. "But I'm afraid I don't seem to be able to give much advice. Romance and intimacy have always gone hand in hand for me, though it had not always lasted long enough before I found Haruka."

Rei nodded, depressed over her own confusion. "But I want to be intimate with her. It doesn't put me off when I think about it. And we've even slept naked together, just not done anything, and that was... that was wonderful."

It was quite the admission, and Rei seemed to have a flush of embarrassment when she realised what she had said, but Michiru could think of little in the way of answers. She just smiled encouragingly. "Then maybe the intimacy in itself is not the problem, but the way you are both going about it. That is something you will have to find out for yourselves. You are both very different people after all. Mako-chan's crushes have always been very adoring and eager, while you have had much more self-possession and confidence. You make for quite the couple."

That smile widened. "And I certainly don't think your sexuality is in question if you feel so strongly for her. Just be glad that you have made the best of it at the right time."

Rei nodded, feeling better for the compliment and the reassurance. "Thanks. I am. I hope you both work everything out too. And you and Ami-chan as well. She thinks a lot of you, you know. Even after what she did, she never wanted to hurt you."

Michiru nodded, sighing as her own problems were dragged back up once again. "I know, but it is not that simple, Rei-chan."

Rei could understand that. "Then we'll both have to try our best, right?"

Michiru shook her head, that small smile forcing its way back onto her face. She would never understand these optimistic girls, but at least it made her feel a little better. "Yes, we will, won't we."

---

Despite all the time that her daughter had spent there during her younger years, Katsura had never before set foot in the Hikawa Shrine. Religion, no matter how traditional or 'new age', had never interested her. She had always been a scientist at heart.

She could see why Ami and her friends had so often congregated there though. The wooded surroundings were beautiful, and the shrine itself had a quaint, old fashioned charm about it. It was also spacious, even for a woman like herself who could afford to live in a large condo apartment.

As such there was plenty of room for everyone as the old, smiling priest served them with their choices of drink.

"Are you sure it's okay to be here? What about Rei-chan?"

Katsura recognised the woman who spoke as Tsukino Ikuko, and the man beside her must have been her husband Genji, though she had not met him before. Ikuko she had met more than a few times though, thanks to Usagi's befriending of her own daughter. She was a very pleasant, if somewhat tempestuous woman, and privately Katsura could see where Usagi got some of her wilfulness from.

The priest, Rei's grandfather by Katsura's guess, just smiled winningly at Ikuko, as if the pair of them were old friends. "Not to worry, Ikuko-san. The shrine is closed for the afternoon, and Rei will be out running errands for me until sundown I'm sure."

Katsura watched as Minako's parents, Yokozuki and Kikon, made their own voices heard. "Hino-san, we appreciate the invitation, but would you mind making your point?" Yokozuki said, bristling to hide his concern about the gathering.

Kikon didn't bother to hide her worry, not least because of her differences of opinion to her husband, Katsura thought.

Grandpa Hino didn't reply however, leaving Tsukino Genji to straighten his glasses and sip on the beer in his hands. "Yokozuki-san, you were the one who called us, remember? We appreciated being kept informed, as did Hino-san when we told him. Besides," he added with a smile, "it is long since time Mizuno-sensei should have been invited."

He turned to her. "Our children's antics have all worried us at some point or another, hence this little 'club'!"

"I do wish you wouldn't call it that," said the final member, closing her eyes over her tea. "I may be the youngest one here, but even I would be grateful if you didn't belittle our meetings."

Genji's smile turned embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Setsuna-san. But really, it is like being in high school again."

Setsuna just watched with a faintly long suffering expression as Usagi's father made his point.

"Hino-san is our wise but cheeky mentor type, Yokozuki-san is the conspiracy geek, Kikon-san our shy student, you are the over-serious child prodigy, and we now have our bookish transfer student," he finished, gesturing to Katsura, who sat slightly astonished.

"Conspiracy geek?!" Yokozuki exclaimed after a moment's speechlessness. "What does that make you then Tsukino-san?!"

"Of course, I am the roguish joker of the class, with my cheerleader girlfriend!"

Ikuko gave him a gentle slap on the back of his head, knocking her husband's glasses down his nose. "You are the computer nerd Gen-chan, and don't you forget it."

Setsuna cleared her throat, quieting the others with various shades of embarrassment, except Grandpa Hino who just laughed to himself at their displays.

"Now," she said, "if you have finished re-living your youth? I believe we owe Mizuno-sensei better for her first meeting with us all."

Katsura breathed an inward sigh of relief. Even if she was over a decade younger, Setsuna seemed to be the most level headed of the lot! "Ah, thank you Meioh-san."

"Just Setsuna here, Mizuno-sensei," the tanned young woman replied. "I am here just as everyone else is, as a guardian for my girls, even if it is not a legal reality."

Grandpa Hino's smile turned more thoughtful as she said that. "Do you really think of Haruka-kun and Michiru-chan as your children, Setsuna-san?"

"To some degree," Setsuna replied, cryptically. "I am as worried about the results of our girls' trip away you are, hence this meeting, correct?"

Yokozuki nodded. "We should have talked about this sooner."

"It couldn't be helped," Ikuko put in. "You were glad at having them return. I know we were," she gestured at Genji and herself, "just because it made Usagi so much happier."

"I wish I could say the same," Katsura said, as much to herself as to the others there.

Grandpa Hino prodded her with that understanding smile of his. "Go on, Mizuno-sensei."

Katsura just looked down into her coffee. "I... I would rather not say just now..."

Setsuna interrupted her however. "I understand the predicament Mizuno-sensei," she explained, knowing the reason for Katsura's reticence. "I will not be offended just because it involves Haruka and Michiru as well."

Katsura sighed. She should have expected them to know already, given the amount of celebrity gossip floating around. "It took weeks for her to tell me," she said. "I tried to make as much time for her as I could, and she didn't feel able to tell me any of her important troubles. The armour she came home with, why she felt desperate enough to become involved with a friend's partner..."

She paused, amazed that she was admitting all of this. Perhaps it was because these were the few people she could ever hope to understand what she was saying. "I think she was forced to do some terrible things in that place. That's why she is afraid to tell me, I'm sure."

Rei's grandfather nodded in understanding. "That I don't doubt," he said frankly. "Rei confessed a great many things to me on the night that she came home. Strangely, she seemed to have the opposite priorities to Ami-chan though, from what you have said Mizuno-sensei. Rei cried herself into exhaustion to tell me that she had lost her faith, and that she had... harmed others."

"Hino-san..." Ikuko whispered, shocked that the situation had been so serious.

"And yet," he continued, "she has tried to keep her new 'romantic interest' a secret. Perhaps she thinks I'm not ready for that kind of news yet."

"Minako as well," Kikon suddenly blurted out. "She has these moments, when she starts daydreaming... And the look on her face..." The woman seemed to be tearing up as she spoke. "She seemed so proud to call herself a warrior when she came back. I didn't expect it to be true enough for her to worry about what she had done."

"I don't suppose Haruka-san has shown anything similar?" Yokozuki asked.

Setsuna face didn't betray anything, but she was not tight lipped. "Her problems seem largely romantic," she replied, "but no doubt she has been through the same as the other girls. It has simply not had a chance to show yet."

She and Katsura both looked at each other, and understood their shared intent. This was not the time to divulge the unusual new specifics of that matter. Not yet.

"Do you really think they had to kill anybody?" Katsura asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear it for herself anyway.

"They did," Grandpa Hino replied, knowing it for a fact. "Rei was very adamant about confessing that. I don't think she thought that I would be able to forgive her for it. She even offered to be disowned, if it would prove how much she wanted to be forgiven."

Both Katsura and Kikon hung their heads. "Have you forgiven her?" Genji asked, despite his wife's protests.

"All I needed to know was that she feels guilty about it," Grandpa Hino replied. "That is the only proof I have that she has even taken a life, and also proof that she never wanted to."

"A soldier does what she has to do," Yokozuki added. "Regardless of what you all think of my opinions, Minako did not bring back swords from that world as trinkets. Nor do I think that Ami-chan would have brought armour," he added, remembering what Katsura had said, "if it did not mean something more to her than just an attractive souvenir."

Katsura nodded. "I think so too. But if I tell her I know, then it will just make her depression worse. I can forgive her, but that won't make her feel any better. She doesn't want to admit to having done it."

"Actually," Setsuna pointed out, "I think that Ami-chan is the one dealing with it best. She just doesn't want to have let us down, regardless of whether we forgive her or not. She is a very sensible girl, but our trust in that sensible nature is very important to her."

Grandpa Hino agreed with that. "Rei needed to hear me forgive her, but she knows that I have lingering worries, just as she does, especially over her faith. Such things cannot be so easily recovered from, and it seems that Ami-chan knows that better than Rei."

"So what can we do about it?" Kikon asked simply.

They didn't have an answer to that.

"I know I don't have your problems here," Genji said, breaking the silence, "but if it was Usagi who had gone through that, I would just be there as her father. There's no point forcing the issue, because Usagi would just think I was spying on her, and that she had really done something wrong. Our girls are grown up now, and we're not supposed to know everything about them any more. It's up to them if they want our help, or guidance, or forgiveness, or whatever. I meddled in Usagi's life for far too long, and now she and Mamoru-san barely talk to me because they think I'll still bite his head off!"

"That is your own fault dear," Ikuko said gently, matching his own afterthoughts.

"And speaking of their romances," Kikon said, fuelling the gossip fire, "you said that Rei-chan had a new 'romantic interest' Hino-san?"

The old priest sighed, smiling wistfully. "I don't know whether Rei thinks I won't approve, or that I'll have far too much fun with it. But whatever the case, Mako-chan is a good, stable girl."

"Oh dear Lord, not another one," Ikuko moaned, before Genji put a hand on her arm.

"Now now, dear, we talked about this, remember?"

Ikuko looked suitable ashamed, even if the idea didn't sit too well. "Yes, I'm sorry."

Grandpa Hino shrugged. It was a strange idea for him as well, now that it was happening with his own granddaughter. "Well, if they were alone for so long in that world, with so much happening to worry them, it would only be natural to grow closer to each other."

Setsuna only nodded sagely, keeping her most important thoughts to herself, just as she always did during these meets. She smiled to herself. If only they knew. Usagi and Minako had been right, she had decided after the first few times she had participated, over a year ago now. The cloak and dagger routine was rather fun!

---

Artemis looked up from his feline bathing as the door to Minako's room opened, and in slumped a very tired looking starlet, who was completely failing to show off the best of her very attractive dress at that moment. "Wow, Minako, you look... wiped, quite frankly."

Minako sighed, her hopeful little bubble popping as Artemis proved totally incapable of making her feel better. "Why thank you Artemis," she fawned, sarcasm dripping from her sweetened tongue. "I'm so glad you think so after my thoroughly exhausting day, working my butt off and not even getting more than thirty seconds for lunch this afternoon!"

Artemis shook his head, his sympathy for Minako's plight more subdued than normal. "That's show business for you. Cutthroat and exploitative."

Minako groaned weakly and plopped down in the bed, bouncing Artemis out of his comfortable position and leaving him to sit up on his haunches. "Ohhh, being an adult sucks," she said with a huff. "I want to play with Usagi-chan!"

"Luna says that she's giving Ami-chan some much needed support," Artemis informed her, "just as Michiru-san is for Rei-chan, and Mako-chan was for Haruka-san."

Minako's only response to that was to stare at the ceiling. "Luna's been busy then."

"Yep, she's feeling the busybody itch."

Minako pulled herself upright. "And what about you, my lazy old cat?"

"I," Artemis replied, "was making the most of the summer sun until you staggered in. I guess the shoot was more draining than usual? It's not even five o'clock yet, you shouldn't be that tired."

"Eh, they want me to 'emote'," she explained, letting her hair down before starting to re-tie it in her ribbon. "They don't say what emotions, they don't give me a 'feel' to go for, they just say they'll know it when they see it. At least it's a good juice they want me to sell, since I've had to do thirty takes drinking the same stuff!"

Artemis looked at her belly. "I did wonder..."

"Hey!" Minako said, giving him a sharp look. "None of that! Plus I can't get hold of Mikiyo-san."

"Your agent?"

Minako nodded. "She said this morning that she wanted to discuss doing another interview about what it was like 'getting to know the Senshi'," she giggled, "and that would be so cool..."

"Not to mention profitable after the press release you gave," Artemis added.

"Exactly, but can I get hold of her now?" Minako sighed. "I guess even she gets her flaky showbiz moments."

Artemis didn't seem so sure though. "I don't know. She's always been pretty reliable. Do you want me to check her apartment tonight?"

Minako shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow. She might just be on a date or something. But thanks for the offer Artemis! It's nice to have you on my side!"

The white haired cat smiled as she scratched his head. "Anything to oblige," he said with a satisfied smile. "What about you?"

"I think I'm going to treat myself after being messed around in front of cameras all day," Minako said, wandering over to her wardrobe. "A long bath, some computer games, and then over to Mako-chan's shop for some Hyper-Mako-Noodles!"

---

In town the early dinner time line stretched out in front of Maxill's little stall like a hungry necklace of beaded humans, but she found it hard to keep her mind focused on her work as she mechanically catered to yet another young girl. "That will be ¥320 please."

Next to her Aretsuki handled the cash box as the girl fumbled with her purse, and Maxill had to repress a sigh and forced herself to keep smiling. That was the Japanese way, it seemed, and she had to keep her cover intact. She took the girl's money and handed it to her younger 'sister'.

Aretsuki was sister in spirit only though, Maxill thought as she went through the motions for the next girl in line. They were all 'sisters'. Banding together in that way had been what kept them alive in the aftermath of Queen Beryl's death. But there was a difference. The others might not have recognised it, but Maxill did.

Even with the young and cheerful fox-girl to keep her company, Maxill still yearned for her sister's presence. Her blood sister. Her twin. They had shared a birthing pool, shared the life energy they had nursed from, and even the blood they had spilled together when their kind had gone mad with starvation.

And now she was alone. Her blood sister - her other half - had forced her through the portal, only to be trapped in what remained of their Dark Kingdom, left with no alternative but to take her own life. That memory burned inside her. They were both fools, one to have sacrificed herself, the other for letting her do so.

But Maxill could not resent her sister, or the 'family' who had kept her alive. They did what they did for her sake. She had to live on and succeed in their plan, or else what would her twin have died for? That was why she pushed herself to work through the days and into the nights, harvesting the energy they needed.

"Excuse me Miss, are you alright?"

Maxill was jogged out of her reminiscences, to see the youngest of those five girls, perhaps fifteen years old, looking at her with concern.

"W-what?"

"I'm sorry," the girl said, bowing as she took her food. "You just seem sad."

For some reason that she could not explain, that human concern struck a chord within her. "I'm fine, but thank you. Here," she said, only taking half of the money the girl had handed her. "A little service."

A murmuring rippled through the queue and Aretsuki looked at her in surprise, but Maxill paid it no mind. "We are already taking everything we need," she whispered to the young girl beside her, motioning up to the large parasol above them, and the ring of slowly filling crystals hidden inside it.

The five girls moved to the side and giggled amongst themselves, and the queue continued forwards. Maxill brushed the hair she was so unused to out of her eyes. She knew that she should not feel anything towards the humans, but every now and then, like that small show of concern, she hoped that they would not put up resistance. While Myoshiya detested the creatures and many others would be happy to sate their desire for revenge upon them, Maxill saw some hope in them. She could allow herself to loath specific individuals, those unconcerned and antagonistic types that crawled about the city, but with the right sort of purging many humans might make for fine youma when the time came.

She was wondering whether Aretsuki, with her childish, optimistic outlook, might understand those kind of thoughts, but a worried scream dragged her attention back to her stall. The girls who had loitered beside the grill were crouching on the floor, and in the centre one of them lay prone on the pavement. Aretsuki just stared at them, but both she and Maxill knew well enough that the paleness in the girl's face was not normal for humans.

"I-it's okay, I think," one of the older girls said. "She's just anaemic. She'll be okay in a bit."

'Anaemic?' Maxill thought. 'The girl has a weak body?'

She swallowed hard as the band of girls rushed to find water, and get their friend into the shade of the parasol. This human was certainly not going to be alright, especially after loitering so long within the reach of their energy draining crystals. The effect should have been barely noticeable, reaching out to everyone that waited to be served, but to wait there so long as her friends were served, then to stand and gossip there with an already weakened constitution...

But what could she do? Surely it would look suspicious to move her out into the baking sun and away from the draining area of the parasol. Even worse, should she even be contemplating helping a human? One of the creatures who had destroyed her world, and cost her her beloved twin. She had every right to watch with satisfaction as this being died, didn't she? Aretsuki wasn't going to move to help a human, even if she knew how. Maxill wouldn't even have to lift a finger.

---

"Mmmm! This is so good!"

Makoto smiled at the compliment as Minako wolfed her way through the huge bowl of fried noodles. "You know, it might taste better if it actually touched your tongue on the way down."

Minako just grinned around her mouthful. "I'm too hungry to chew! I barely ate lunch!"

In front of the till the aging Matsubashi shook his head. "I should start getting your friends to put on an eating contest," he said around the beer that hung from his fingers. "It might bring in a few more people given the way they eat."

Minako flushed red while Makoto laughed. "I'm not that bad," she pouted, her mouth full.

"Yes, you are," Makoto countered, "but we still love you."

"Hmmph, just as well, because you're never getting rid of me!"

Makoto rolled her eyes and leaned back on her stool behind the counter. "It's not you we want to get rid of," she said, glancing out into the street. Then she stopped. "Hey, what's that?"

Both Minako and Matsubashi followed her gaze. "Huh? It looks like your competition just tripped over their customers' feet," Minako noted nonsensically.

Matsubashi just sighed. "Someone collapsed. Kino-san, keep an eye on the bar for me. I'd better go and see if they need help. Honestly," he muttered as he went, taking off his apron, "that greasy food is no good for young girls like them."

He strode across the road and put on his best authoritative voice. "Stand back girls, give her some room. You there," he said, looking straight at Maxill, "what happened?"

Maxill found herself stammering. "S-she just passed out! Maybe it was the heat? I keep telling them she can't stay near the stand, the heat from our grill will only make her worse!"

Matsubashi nodded. "She's right," he told the worried gaggle around them, "bring her over to my bar, we have a few chairs inside." He took the unconscious girl's arm over one shoulder, while Maxill took the other arm, and together they carried her across the road.

"Have you called a medic or an ambulance?" he asked.

Maxill shook her head. "N-no, but I think one of the girls did, right?"

The youngest girl behind them nodded. "I called her parents, they know what to do."

"Right, just let her rest here then," Mastubashi said, easing their patient into a chair. "You know, if you're going to give them that kind of food you could at least be a little more pro-active when this happens," he lectured Maxill. "People have heart attacks because of it."

To their collected surprise Maxill seemed a little shaken by that fact. "You can't be serious... Everyone eats it."

"Well, yeah," Makoto spoke up from behind the bar, "but it's still bad for you."

Minako sighed, getting off her stool and going over to the girls who hovered around their friend. "But they taste good. She is going to be okay, isn't she?"

One of the girl's friends nodded. "She just fainted. It happens, because she's anemic."

Minako peered at the unconscious girl as her friends tried to wake her. The poor things didn't just look fatigued, but outright drained. Her skin was pasty and drawn, and beneath their lids her eyes looked grayed over and glazed. Almost as if...

She looked up at Maxill, but the burger flipper looked genuinely concerned. She couldn't be a youma. Could she?

"Hey, we'll take care of her," Matsubashi said, catching Maxill's attention. "Shouldn't you get back to your little girl? Not that I agree with getting a child to help you at work."

The final cog in Minako's thoughts slotted into place, and as Maxill left Minako put her hand into her purse, traced her finger along her pager until she reached the last button, and pushed it.

Makoto's phone went off. She took a moment to read the message before giving Minako an incredulous look.

Minako just nodded in confirmation.

"Matsubashi-san, I'm sorry, but I kind of have to run," Makoto said, looking apologetic as she grabbed her things from the pegs at the end of the wall. "I'll make it up to you tomorrow, I promise!"

"What, now?" Matsubashi asked. "Eh, it's not like we're busy. Go on, I'll look after the girl."

"Mako-chan, I'll come with you!" Minako left the dregs of her meal on the bar, pausing only to give Matsubashi a quick bow. "Thanks for the meal!"

The old noodle man shook his head. Youths today were always in such a hurry. Even the conscientious ones like Makoto.

Thirty seconds later however that conscientious girl and her friend had hidden themselves in the alley behind the shop, and she was furiously digging in her bag for a very special pen. "Minako-chan, seriously, you're sure it wasn't just heat-stoke or anemia?"

"I wouldn't have sent everyone the call if I wasn't sure!" Minako countered, her transformation pen already in her hand. "Remember when Setsuna said that jeweller youma didn't know what she was doing? That woman didn't know that burgers aren't good for you, -and- that girl looked like she had been drained of energy, -and- that burger woman has a kid working with her, just like the jewellery one did!"

"Fine," Makoto said, the idea finally sold on her, "but if you're wrong we are going to look so stupid."

"And if I'm right I've given you a real reason to beat up on the woman who stole all your customers! Venus Crystal Power, Make Up!"

Another thirty seconds later...

"Fast food may be cheap, but eat too much and it will make you fat! Exploiting poor holidaying students and burger junkies is prehensile..."

"Umm, Venus?" Sailor Jupiter said, already feeling somewhat embarrassed as they posed together in the middle of the street, "I think you mean 'reprehensible', and we're kind of holding up the traffic here."

"Whatever..." Sailor Venus exclaimed, to the sound of the bus horn that sounded a few cars from her. "Because of all that, in the name of love, I will punish you."

A sudden, dreadful silence fell across the new battlefield, before a lone voice called from the sidelines.

"Hey, get out of the bloody road already!"

"Hey, we're being heroic here!" Sailor Venus yelled, an irate vein popping up on her furrowed brow. She shook her hand at the truck driving lout for extra effect. "Don't be so blase when there's a demon serving your children burgers!"

As one, the line in front of Maxill's stand retreated to safe distance, and soon the wide pavement was deserted, excepting the two disguised youma in question.

Maxill swallowed hard, wondering what to do. Myoshiya had been right, these people were idiots, but the tall one in green was advancing already, and looked very determined.

"H-how did you find us again!?!" Aretsuki yelled, not even waiting for her older sister and ripping off her disguise to reveal her orange fur and writhing fox-tails.

"The power of Justice!" Sailor Venus intoned as she finally let the traffic disperse, each driver wanting their cars to be as far away as possible when the energy bolts starting flying.

Well she wasn't exactly going to say it was blind luck, now was she?

"Run!" Maxill screamed, but both Jupiter and Venus were ready for that after last time.

"Venus Honey Flash!"

In an instant Sailor Venus winked out of existence, the sudden light blinding everyone there as her new power shifted her behind her enemies. "Gotcha!" she yelled triumphantly as she grabbed Aretsuki in a bear hug.

"Hey!" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed, suddenly dumbstruck. "You kept your magic from Seiji?! Ah, watch out for her teeth!"

The warning came too late however, and Venus suffered the same fate as Jupiter had last time as the fox-youma sank her fangs into Venus' shoulder. With a yelp of pain she let the young monster go, but Sailor Jupiter couldn't do anything without frying Venus as well.

She therefore set her sights on Maxill and extended her tiara's antenna. "Supreme Thunder!"

It was her weakest attack, but also her most accurate, and the bolt of lightning struck Maxill dead centre, shredding her disguise and knocking her to the ground.

The youma that arose was perhaps one of the most unnerving that either of the Senshi had ever seen. It was feminine as always, but jet black from head to toe, hairless and glistening as though it was made of slick rubber. Her face was all but featureless, a smooth oval of the same shining black skin, but two vast red eyes peered out from that blackness like the eyes of an insect.

"I don't even know what I'm looking at there, but she's mine!" Sailor Venus growled, an idea forming in her head as she clutched at her bleeding shoulder. "Venus Love-Me Chain!"

Jupiter took the hint and sprinted off after the fox girl, only just able to keep pace. However, the smaller youma proved just agile enough to out manoeuvre the most athletic of the Senshi and scampered up a fire escape, bouncing from rails to window ledges and up to the roof before Jupiter could climb halfway up.

As much as it galled her, Sailor Jupiter knew when she was beaten, and instead raced back to make sure that the black youma didn't do the same. What she saw when she got there looked more than a little disturbing. Venus had the creature caught in her Love-Me Chain, but the linked whip was pulled so tight around the youma's waist that it almost looked like she was trying to slice a soft block of butter. The harder either of them pulled the more the chain tightened, forcing the youma's ooze-like flesh up and down into the rest of her body, making her hips and bust bulge like a comedy balloon. A human-shaped comedy water balloon!

"Stop struggling already!" Venus exclaimed. "You're gonna burst!"

In response the mouth-less youma screamed in frustration and changed tactics, charging Venus instead, even though it did nothing to the chain that had tightened obscenely around her waist.

"What?! Jupiter!"

"I can't, if I shock her..."

"Just do it!"

Sailor Jupiter did as she was told, trying to put in just enough power without actually killing the thing, since Sailor Venus was obviously trying to take it alive. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!"

That was more than enough to put the youma down and out of the fight, leaving Sailor Venus to glower at her friend as she sizzled gently, electricity having run through her via her Love-Me Chain, which left both her hair and her dignity rather the worse for wear. "J-Jupiter-chan..."

Jupiter just smiled apologetically. "Well, I did try to warn you."

Around them the cheers went up from the spectators as they came out of hiding, and it was just then that one of their comrades finally appeared on the scene.

"Well," Sailor Pluto said, not clear as to which proportions of chastisement and impressed approval she was trying to put across, "it looks like the rest of us won't be needed for this fight."

"Heh heh, sorry," Jupiter said, "it was a kind of spur-of-the-moment thing."

Venus on the other hand just smiled as she tried to flatten her hair, making as little fuss about her shoulder as she could. "That little fox-demon got away again, but it all worked out. Look!" She pointed to the fallen youma. "You said we needed information? Here's all the information we need!" She grinned. "Hee hee, and I've always wanted a prisoner!"

---

Myoshiya looked out through the tenth storey windows at the rising moon. The silver glare from that infernal crescent was more than enough to tip her from 'bored' into 'properly fed up'. "You really are becoming a pest you know," she said to her newest human 'friend'. "The sooner you tell me what I want to know, the sooner you can go back to your inane little existence as kingmaker to your over-pampered starlets."

Hakano Mikiyo, agent to some of the greatest teen idols in Japan, continued to glare down through her teary eyes, staring at nothing but the floor that she sat trussed up on. The ropes bit into her wrists, ankles, elbows and knees, and she was sure that the blood had been completely cut off to her left leg, but she held her tongue.

"While I would rather not," Myoshiya continued, "I can wait for as long as need be. Either you can give me the Aino girl, or you can starve to death in here, and I -will- drink your life energy once you expire."

"What could you want with her?" Mikiyo asked with a halting sob. "She's only just turned twenty. She's an airhead! She's pretty, she can dance, and she looks good in front of the camera, but why could you need her?!"

"The same way I need you," Myoshiya replied with a smile, now that the woman was finally talking. "You will give me the Aino girl, and she will give me the Sailor Senshi! She knows them. You made sure that everyone knows that. They are her friends. She must know their secrets, just as you know Aino Minako's secrets. Those are secrets I need."

Myoshiya's blue lipped smiled grew more feral. "And if need be, they will come to rescue her. Maybe she will tell the Sailor Senshi to come and rescue you too, if I keep you here long enough to make her suspicious. It would be a shame if she did. It would be such a waste of energy turning you into a monster to fend them off. And even if I did, you would be nothing more than a messy little speed bump to the Sailor Senshi. Just one more youma corpse, buying me just enough time to make my escape. Your brave little stand would come to nothing."

Mikiyo's eyes rose, filled with loathing. "I won't let you touch Minako-chan!"

Myoshiya's eyes narrowed. So much for talking her into submission. It had been going so well too. Maybe it was too early for that. "I see. Well, if your heroines don't turn up to kill you, I do hope you won't take too long to starve. I have other things to be getting on with."

---

To Be Continued...

---

Author's Note: As of posting this Chapter 4 has also been updated with a new penultimate scene to help the flow of the narrative. Many thanks to PinaPoe for the C&C, and allowing the cats another scene in the process!

Please leave a review with any comments and criticisms you have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.

(c) Nutzoide 2007


	7. Great Expositions!

Shooting for the Moon: Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

---

Shooting for the Moon

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 6: Great Expositions!

An Affirmed Love and a Heroic Cat.

The Hikawa shrine seemed unusually quiet as Rei dragged herself from her bed. There was a peaceful serenity about the gentle sunlight that seeped into the room, and the occasional chirping of birds outside, punctuated only by the coarse cries of Phobos and Deimos. In fact, even those crows seemed content to break the calming mood only occasionally.

If Rei had forced herself to stay in bed for another minute, the calmness might very well have driven her mad. She had lain there for the best part of an hour, staring at the ceiling and trying very hard to have a well-earned lie in, but it wasn't happening. Her brain had filled itself with nagging thoughts far too readily, and now the world conspired to show her just how peaceful everything but her own head was. That was it, she thought to herself as she pulled on her clothes, it was a conspiracy. Just when she needed to relax the most she was going to be forced to stay awake and ruminate. Well, sod that for a game of soldiers! She was going to get up and get on with her morning!

She looked over at her clock, which blazed 7:23 at her a little too happily for her liking. She sighed. Why was she getting angry at inanimate objects so early in the morning? The answer was simple: it was something to do. After all, for all her errand running the day before, there hadn't been much on her mind besides Makoto, and there was nothing she could do about that. Michiru, for as much support as she had been able to give, hadn't actually been able to help her out of the hole she had found herself stuck in.

Rei tied her hair back with a little red bow, wanting it out of the way for once, and padded out into the shrine proper, and to the kitchen. It would have been nice if she had simply been able to shrug her shoulders and say she had made a decent go of it, and that was that, but almost immediately she began to miss the long, soft fingers that would intertwine with hers, eager and hesitant in equal measure. There was something about playing with Makoto's fingers that Rei had found incredibly entertaining. Her hair as well, when she let it down. She could have spent hours twirling those indecisive curls around her fingertips.

"Maybe Michiru-san was right," she said to herself, trying to remember where she kept the coffee in their cupboards. "I think I've got it pretty bad."

So then why the uncertainty? Why that crawling discomfort? And where on earth was that wretched coffee?

"Grandpa!?" she called out into the shrine, knowing full well that he had likely got up well before she had. "Where have you left the coffee?!"

The little priest poked his bald head around the door. "I'm not -that- deaf yet Rei. It's in the cupboards, where it always is."

"-Which- cupboard?!" Rei asked in exasperation. "There's more than one! Honestly, you do this every time you have guests round."

Her grandfather just smiled, unaffected by her sour mood, and opened the leftmost door to reveal the jar in question.

Rei sighed. It was just his logic to put everything he had used away in the same single place. "Grandpa, coffee lives here," she said pointing to the first door she had looked behind, "with the rest of the dry drinks-things. So does the tea for that matter."

She plucked them both out and put them where they 'should' have been, before starting to fix herself her early morning caffeine fix.

"And you know," she added, without the annoyance this time, "if you don't want me around when you have guests you could just say so. You didn't have to send me across half of Tokyo for the day."

"You saved me the effort," her Grandfather explained, "and you did say you had someone to meet." His eyes twinkled impishly, guessing who she might have gone to see. "I trust you had a good time?"

Rei shrugged. "I just needed to talk to her."

The old priest blinked. "Just talk?"

"Grandpa," Rei sighed, "it's personal."

"Fair enough. But you can tell me when you want some space to have a guest over too."

Rei had to wonder what was going through his head. "What? I don't think I've ever invited Michiru-san over here."

Grandpa Hino blinked again, even more confused than his granddaughter. "Michiru-chan?"

"And since when are you so familiar with her anyway?"

Her grandfather sniffed, holding his nose in the air. "I happen to be good friends with Setsuna-san."

This time it was Rei's turn to blink in surprise. "You are? When did that happen?"

"What, an old man isn't allowed to make new friends?"

"I didn't mean that Grandpa. You are old enough to be -her- grandfather too you know."

Grandpa Hino have her a look. "Now look who's getting strange and unnecessary thoughts! It looks like you have some of my blood in you after all Rei!"

Rei groaned at the thought. "Just don't... Who did you think I was going to meet anyway?"

"Well, you have been spending more time with that attractive Mako-chan recently. Even though you both work... She's a good influence on you I think."

However, it saddened him when Rei's face turned sober. "Really?" she asked, looking at her coffee as she poured in the milk, the concoction slowly turning a lighter chocolate brown. "I don't think most people would agree with you there."

Her grandfather stood observing her for a moment. "I suppose it's good that I'm not most people then. Is this about... your 'trip'?"

"No, not really," Rei replied. "She doesn't care about that."

"Even if you do?"

Rei didn't answer that, as much as she wanted to. "Grandpa, if I said that Makoto isn't exactly a 'traditional' girl, and that I might not be either, would that bother you?"

"I doubt it," he replied honestly. "As long as you were discreet when you were here. Which, incidentally, is a hint to invite her. I know there are some worries that an old man like me can't help you overcome, and by the look of it you've had a good case of them since you came home."

Rei looked at him, trying to see what he was thinking. "You knew?"

"I wouldn't say that," he replied, "but you did seem to enjoy having her here."

"Well, it doesn't matter. All our lives are kind of awkward right now, and anyway, Mako-chan's working all day today."

Her grandfather considered that. "You girls have all been close for a long time, Rei. In my experience, things will only be awkward for as long as you let them stay that way – especially with the way you all know each other - so don't put it off. I'll let you skip this morning so you can have breakfast out."

Rei just looked at him before leaning down to give him a hug. He had just given her the excuse she had wanted to see Makoto again. And after all the support he had already given her. "Thanks Gramps. I'm sorry I shouted. You're really the best."

Grandpa Hino just grinned. "Of course! Now get going. Another thing I learned is never to keep an anxious lady waiting!"

---

That was exactly what Maxill was going though, and not for one, but for four very different and very powerful ladies.

Sailor Venus stood at the fore, having an authoritative 'all business' moment, while Sailor Pluto and Sailor Moon flanked her. Luna sat with quiet dignity, perched carefully on Sailor Moon's shoulder.

Though Maxill did not know it, they had decided to keep her close, in the unused basement of the Meioh/Tenoh/Kaioh residence. From there Sailor Pluto could keep a close watch on their captive, and they would not have to go out of their way to provide what she needed.

At least, that was what they had thought. Maxill had kept quiet ever since she had woken, but the Sailor Senshi's powers of bargaining were not impressing her. Especially when it came to the assurance that she would be provided for.

"Do you think your material food will sustain me?" she said, breaking her silence as the words issued from her black, mouthless face.

"Actually," Sailor Moon admitted, unknowingly providing the 'good cop' role, "I don't know what youma really eat."

Maxill looked towards one of the open boxes in the corner of the room. The Senshi had trouble following that lidless gaze with no irises or pupils to guide them, but they saw the box in which they had put their scavenged loot. "Those crystals?" Sailor Moon asked.

Pluto on the other hand leaped on the implication. "You subsist on our life energy," she said darkly.

The girls could have sworn the Maxill's blank, oval head tweaked its non-existent lips in a smile. "Not 'life' energy. Just parts of it. Just a little. And not just from you. Unlike you, we do not need to kill to feed. Anything we take can be regained."

"That's just how it is for humans," Sailor Venus admitted, her honesty allowing her to keep the high ground. "But you kill, even when you don't have to. You took our lives, and turned people into monsters to save your own worthless hides!"

"That was war," Maxill accepted. "We were serving our Queen, and our Goddess!"

"So what is it this time?" Sailor Moon asked, even though she didn't want to know the answer. No matter what it was, it would mean that innocent people were being hurt.

"Energy raiding?" Sailor Venus asked, not bothering to pull her verbal punches. "Subversion? Harvesting?

Maxill clammed up again, only giving them a single word. "Survival."

Sailor Pluto narrowed her eyes. "Then I will make sure that you fail in that goal, monster."

"How many of you are there this time?" Venus asked, but she knew that it was futile now. The youma wasn't going to say anything else after that.

From Sailor Moon's shoulder Luna realised that, with such opposing extremes between Sailor Moon and Sailor Pluto, these interrogations would end up as little more than window dressing. If anything Sailor Moon's concerned and caring approach would yield more information, but by that same token she would no doubt end up sympathising with their captive without a stronger hand there with her. Pluto would just make the creature hate them, and it didn't seem arrogant or wretched enough to be cowed by anything less than a dangerous show of force.

Instead, Luna decided just to continue with her own investigations. At least her girls would balance out each other's extremes and make sure that the youma remained confused.

Maxill on the other hand, bound to the chair so tightly even her malleable body could not squeeze out, just glared at them with her yellow, multi-faceted eyes as they left. Maybe Myoshiya was right after all, she thought. If these were the best of the humans, did such a race of creatures really deserve to live? Especially after what they had done to her people, and her sister.

---

Like Usagi, Makoto hadn't thought much of the idea of keeping a prisoner. Both of them, along with Hotaru and Ami, had thought that it was more than a little distasteful. But, where their future princess had objected on purely idealistic grounds, and had been eventually worn down by Minako and Setsuna's mission oriented pragmatism, Makoto's concern had been much simpler. It was too underhanded for her liking. Necessary perhaps, given the circumstances, but with the benefit of hindsight Makoto would much have preferred taking the direct approach and finishing the fight properly.

Of course, she had also been hoping that Usagi, or rather Sailor Moon, would have been able to 'heal' their captive, but this wasn't one of the once-common transformed youma monsters. This was a youma in the flesh. Even Sailor Moon couldn't fix someone who had been born a youma. If youma even were born. Maybe they came from eggs or something.

She put those thoughts out of her mind. That fight the day before had got her a little worked up, and she resumed her tuneful humming as she brought her mind back to the job in hand. The noodle bar's glassware wasn't going to polish itself.

"Hey, songbird," Matsubashi said after a few minutes, catching her attention.

"Oh, sorry!" she apologised. Had she been too wrapped up in her own head to realise they had a customer? "Welcome! What can I..."

Makoto stopped in sentence, her heart skipping a beat as she saw Rei sitting at the only occupied stool, resting her head on her hands and smiling at her with undisguised amusement. "R-Rei?"

"You looked like you were having fun without me," Rei teased with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "I didn't want to interrupt."

Makoto didn't know if she should feel relieved or guilty, so she felt both at once, and promptly tried to mask both with professionalism. "W-what can I get you?"

Rei looked a little disappointed by the response, but in truth she hadn't let it bother her. "Just something small, and maybe a little spicy?"

From the other end of the bar Matsubshi shook his head. While he didn't understand his girl in the least, she could at least do better than that. "Mako-chan, I've got this order."

Not that he approved either, given how easy this pair kept making it to see the 'closer than normal' relationship they had come back with. No, he didn't approve in the least. Or so he kept telling himself. He wasn't getting involved in anything messy like that. He was just looking out for Makoto's interests.

"Thank you Matsubashi-san," Rei said with a broad smile, and the aging chef just nodded and fired up his grill.

'The cunning old fox', Makoto thought. Now she had no choice but to talk properly to her girlfriend, and she had evidently needed the push.

"I'm sorry I didn't stick around yesterday," she admitted, feeling a little ashamed of herself for not making the effort, "but right then it was all a bit..."

"Hectic," Rei finished for her. "It's alright. I've needed some time myself."

Makoto nodded, but in her mind she was still clearly the one at fault. "I shouldn't have got mad, back then. I know I keep pushing you too much."

"Makoto, it wasn't your fault..."

"But it was!" the tall girl countered. "I know what I'm like. I'm clingy, and I push. That's why everyone used to run away from me, I'm too eager and desperate!" She looked up into Rei's eyes. "I don't want to drive you away too."

Rei felt the heat flush into her cheeks as Makoto admitted that. Those big green eyes of hers were so sincere. "Stop it Mako. I didn't want to make you mad at me either. I should know how I feel by now." She smiled, trying to break the heavy air. "We're a really helpless pair, aren't we?"

Makoto nodded, a smile of her own forcing its way onto her face. "Yeah... I guess we are."

"And Minako told me that you were helping Haruka-san too," Rei added. "I think you might be doing more good meddling than before you started working here."

From the grill Matsubashi laughed heartily. "I can believe that! Our Mako-chan must need to get all that selflessness out of her system after picking up her tips every other evening!"

"Matsubashi-san!"

Rei just laughed along with him. "I bet they tip pretty well for an attractive girl like you too!"

Makoto wanted to make her exclamation at that as well, but she was too busy blushing. "Both of you... Stop making fun!"

"An elegant face, big breasts, long legs, pretty eyes," Rei said, staring at Makoto to watch her reaction. "Don't give me that look Mako. You're beautiful, however much to want to deny it."

It didn't have the effect she was hoping for though.

"... Then why did all the boys I liked run away?" Makoto asked, her eyes downcast. "Why did my sempai turn me down? Why isn't it working for -us-? It can't be just my personality. I try so hard. I learned all the things a girl is supposed to, and I love them now! I try not to be selfish. I even slept with my last two boyfriends so that they would stay with me, and they still left!"

"Makoto..." Rei could only stare in disbelief, watching as the tears welled in her girlfriend's eyes.

"Shit, I didn't want to say all that," Makoto said, wiping her eyes with her palms and putting on a sheepish face. "Sorry. Heh heh, I guess it's just lucky I didn't end up in Haruka-san's situation, huh?"

Rei wasn't going to have any of that though. Not after what she had just seen. She took Makoto's hands forcefully in her own. "What's with all this personal complex stuff?! If no-one's said it before then I'll say it! You're beautiful, and you have a wonderful personality! Maybe those guys were just jerks, or they were just having fun with you, or you just went for guys who liked the wimpy, vacant type. Whatever it was, it wasn't because of you. How on earth did you get through school thinking all that?! And after you wanted to play snow white because you had the breasts! Jeez."

She took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Seriously, has no-one ever told you you are attractive?"

Makoto felt ashamed of that. "Yes. Sometimes, if they wanted to get into my pants. Or when one of you was just being nice."

"It didn't occur to you that maybe we said it because it was true?"

Makoto had to look away from Rei's gaze. "Sorry."

Rei sighed again. "What's the point of me doing all this soul searching if you're just going to blame yourself for everything. I didn't come here this morning for the food you know, Mako. Well, not just the food. I wanted to make up too. I'm sorry for giving you weird signals, and I want to try my best to fix that. Michiru-san said that we're very different, you and me, but that doesn't mean that we can't work. And I'm not going to let you push me away. I love you, and I'm going to make 'us' work, so you'd better help with that, okay?"

Makoto nodded, her slowly spreading smile threatening to overwhelm her. "I love you too. I'll do whatever you need, just tell me."

Then an idea stuck Rei. They were very different people indeed, and yet...

"Makoto, do you want to come over again, after work? Grandpa says it's okay. He sort of found out about us, but he said I could invite you."

"Sure," Makoto replied, still beaming. How had she ever found someone like Rei? Rei thought she was pretty, and was determined not to be driven off, and for the first time it was Makoto who was the one eager for sexual contact. She had to wonder how much heartache she could have saved herself if she had just fallen in love with Rei from the beginning. "I'll come over as soon as I finish. Thank you."

Then, from Makoto's left hand, a small plate of Thai noodles appeared between them. Matsubashi just nodded at Rei. "Here, it's done."

"Thank you," Rei replied, taking the chopsticks her offered her.

"Oh, Matsubashi-san," Makoto said, suddenly realising they had had such an emotional and personal flare right next to him, in his own restaurant. She didn't even know if he was okay with her preferences. "I'm really sorry, about all of that. I promise it won't happen again!"

The old barman just looked at her, feigning ignorance. "What are you talking about? Did something happen? Oh, and your break is over by the way, so you can start on those pans," he said pointing to the utensils he had just used. "This may be a slow morning, but our regulars will be coming back now that junk stand is gone, and you have to make up for running off yesterday as well! Honestly, you missed an amazing show. I still can't believe that woman and her sister were youma, but the Sailor Senshi sure lived up to their record! You should have seen it."

Makoto and Rei just gave each other a look. "Yeah," Rei said with a smirk, "I bet it was something, seeing them in action like that. I hear Sailor Jupiter really kicked ass, and looked drop dead gorgeous to boot!"

"You've got that right," Matsubashi agreed as Makoto smiled through a blush at her girlfriend's flirtatious turn. "That was one seriously 'talented' heroine!"

He never would figure out why Rei chose that moment to bust into such uproarious laughter, or why Makoto seemed quite so embarrassed by the girl's hysterics.

---

"Say, Minako-chan," Usagi said, quiet and concerned as the pair of them walked slowly through their home neighbourhood, making sure that they weren't overheard, "I don't think she's going to tell on her friends, no matter how long we keep her like that."

Minako nodded, also oddly serious. So much so that Usagi was beginning to worry about her. "Setsuna-san isn't being much help either, but it is her house."

"Trying to make her angry won't work," Usagi agreed. "If it was me..."

"If it was you, you'd feel sorry for whoever was doing it," Minako interrupted, dropping a little amusement into her voice. "Somehow I don't think she feels sorry for us though, no matter how angry we seem."

That was the point that Usagi had been making all along. "But do we have to seem angry? This isn't right Minako-chan. We're turning into the bad guys now."

To her friend's surprise Minako just shrugged. "What alternative do we have? We can't let her free, and I know you don't want to kill her."

"Of course not! She seems so... sad," Usagi finished. "We really are the bad guys to her, so can't we prove that's not the way it is? Even Mako-chan said that she seemed sympathetic to the girl that fainted."

"And you'd like to redeem them, and slot them into our society, knowing that they will prey on us?"

Usagi actually nodded. "Yes. We did it before. I don't even think she needs to be redeemed for anything. We just have to show her that we're the good guys too."

"And if we can't?" Minako asked seriously.

Usagi didn't reply to that. "Minako-chan... Why did you start thinking like that? We used to believe in ourselves, no matter what. I know everyone else has problems now, but I thought we could still think the same way together."

Minako's pace slowed as she looked at her closest friend. "Have I really changed that much?"

"No," Usagi replied, "I know you were always more mature than the rest of us, but we used to hope for the same ideals together. Now Rei holds herself back too much, Ami-chan doesn't think she can make the right choices any more, and..." she reached out to squeeze Minako's arm, taking the edge off her words, "I think you've got a bit too serious, like Haruka-san and Michiru-san are."

Minako seemed to accept that with the same unusual quiet that had hung over her all morning. "Haruka-san won't be like that any more. I think we might have traded places a bit, because of the powers we had in Seiji. Haruka-san learned why not to be so unyielding, and I learned that it was possible for me to fight like she used to. Sometimes you don't have a choice."

"Tell me if I go too far though, okay?" she added with a twinkle and a smile, shrugging off the tone in her voice. "I still want to be she same Minako that I was."

Usagi nodded, happy that her partner in crime was still at least somewhat frivolous in the face of adversity. "Sure! That means you'll let me talk to our 'guest', right?"

Minako sighed. "You aren't going to give up on that, are you..."

"Not a chance," Usagi replied, taking her turn to be serious. "Oh, and I think we just walked past your house!"

Minako tuned back into the world around them, and found that her friend was right. "... Let's try that again. And yes, you try and convert our big bad girl, however futile it is. Maybe you'll get lucky."

"I'm always lucky!" Usagi beamed, her argument won.

Minako thought about that as they walked up the path and let them into her house. "It would explain a few things..."

Usagi gave her a playful warning look. "Oi, oi."

However, as soon as they were inside Minako was accosted by her very worried looking mother, wringing her hands on her tea towel as though there was no tomorrow. "Minako! Where on earth have you been! Couldn't you have at least called to tell us you would be out all night?!"

Minako swallowed hard. "I didn't call?"

"No young lady, you did not! Going into show business is all well and good, but I don't want you growing an attitude to match!"

Usagi tried to smile, embarrassed to be a spectator in yet another Aino family quarrel. "Aino-san," she said, looking as apologetic as she could, "I'm really sorry, that was kind of my fault."

Kikon looked between the two girls a few times before shaking her head. "Alright, go on, but for the last time Minako, call if you are going to be late! There are the leftovers of last night's dinner in the fridge if either of you want them for lunch."

"Umm, thank you Aino-san," Usagi said, but Kikon had already shaken her head and slipped back into the kitchen. She was far too used to Usagi and Minako's antics to take it any further than that.

Minako on the other hand just looked put out. "Never mind her," she said, "come on upstairs."

Usagi wanted to chastise her friend for her disrespectful attitude, but she knew she was just as bad with her own mother at times. She just followed Minako to her room, where Artemis sat tapping at the girl's keyboard with his paws.

"Artemis! Are you impersonating Mina-chan online again?!"

The white cat gave her a deadpan stare, and spoke as soon as the door was closed. "Yes, as it happens, and it's always for a good reason."

"Oh?" Usagi wheedled. "Do tell."

"I asked him to Usagi-chan," Minako put in, taking the seat at the desk. "Have you found anything?"

Artemis nodded. "She hasn't been into work according to some of the other actresses and models. The company isn't saying anything though, even to direct messages from your agency account."

"What?" Usagi asked, surprised yet another sudden serious turn of conversation. "What's happened? Who's not gone into work?"

"Mikiyo-san," Minako replied, "my agent. We haven't been able to contact her since yesterday morning, and I think I have a bad feeling about why."

"Shall I go to her apartment?" Artemis asked, all business.

Minako accepted gratefully. "Yes please Artemis."

He nodded and leapt onto her bed. "I'm sure it's nothing, but I'll see you in a bit girls," he said, sounding positive as he left through Minako's bedroom window.

"So that's why you've been serious all morning," Usagi said, the puzzle finally completed for her. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Minako just gave her a smile, shrugging her shoulders. "It's okay. I hope I'm wrong about this, because I don't want to have had the same plans as a youma." She shook her head, realising how cold that sounded compared to what she felt. "No, I just hope she's okay."

"Me too," Usagi said. Too many people were caught up in this already without needing any more innocent civilians involved.

---

Shivis had been a genius among youma, there could be no doubt about that. Even in her youth she had been considered promising, and had even been groomed to be the personal attendant to one of the four great generals of the Dark Kingdom.

But honing her scientific and magical mind had brought with it its own problems. She was, and always had been, reliant on those around her for security, and for resources. She was not strong enough to go out and gather energy, in case anything ever went wrong. When the great fall of the Dark Kingdom had come, Shivis' future had been pulled from under her in one swift battle. Once her people had turned on each other, all her brilliance had meant nothing. Only the protective hand of their captain, Tyranya, had kept her alive.

Tyranya also had a keen mind, Shivis knew. She was a rare thing among their people; a leader. She had shown Shivis the kindness and care that she needed, and that in turn had brought out the heart in Shivis herself. She lived for her experiments, but now those experiments, and therefore that life, had a purpose.

She shook out her orange mane of plumage, and wiped her energy-stained hands on a nearby rag. Captain Tyranya had asked her for a weapon, specifically suited to the energy of these humans. Very soon Shivis would be able to provide it. A harmless little trinket of metal and magic, which even the Sailor Senshi would not be able to stand against. Shivis actually felt a little sorry for those human girls. They genuinely wouldn't stand a chance, just as Shivis herself would not if she ever faced the Senshi herself.

The commotion outside the massive metallic shell caught her wide, bat-like ears once again, and she lay down her last energy crystal. Pulling a few mechanical levers the hatch above her corkscrewed clumsily upwards, before clanking to a stop outside and allowing the feathered youma out of her machine.

"Dear Sisters, do you have to make such a racket?" She blinked, seeing only two of their number in their warehouse base. "Captain Tyranya? Aretsuki? Where are our sisters? Do you not have more energy for me?"

Tyranya looked up at her unsympathetically. "Have you been living in that thing for the last two days, Sister?" The sad thing was that she probably had been. "It seems we have larger problems than that."

Aretsuki looked up at Shivis with tear strewn eyes, her clawed fists balled tightly. "They found us again! They took Sister Maxill! They just took her! We couldn't do anything, and there were only two of them. They're so strong, and fast, and they keep having new powers!"

Tyranya pulled the young fox-girl into another hug. "It's okay, little Sister. You're safe, so you did well."

"But Maxill..! She was even worried about the humans, and the Sailor Senshi just..."

"I am sure that she is alright," Shivis agreed, dropping down to the floor and joining them. "She is strong. If she has also kept her heart even after losing her blood-sister, then all the better. We know that at least some of the Sailor Senshi are reluctant to fight to the death, so that heart of Maxill's may have saved her."

Tyranya looked at her seriously. "But Myoshiya said that her plans also involved taking a captive, and she has not yet returned. If this turns into a war of retribution..."

"Then we will have to hope that Sister Kaizi is successful in her plan," Shivis explained. "Do not worry, Captain. We have covered all our bases. We can only hope that they intend to keep our Maxill alive long enough for us to execute our main plan. We can rescue her then, if she needs our assistance."

Shivis knew that Tyranya would have preferred not to wait, and that they would need every one of them to stand and face the Senshi when it came to that, but they could not jeopardise their carefully laid plan. "I am worried as well, Sister. But, even after her loss, Maxill is not helpless."

"I know," Tyranya replied as she stroked Aretsuki's fur, comforting them both. "She is a strong one. I can only hope she is safe."

Shivis nodded. "Yes. Now, do we have any news of when our next batch of crystals will be ready? I am down to my last few, and the more I delay the siphoning the more energy I will eventually need."

"I will get it from Kaizi myself, tonight," Tyranya replied, asserting her authority over the situation once again. Then she pulled Aretsuki from her embrace and knelt down to her. "Little Sister, can you be strong for me now? Sister Myoshiya is still working to find the Sailor Senshi, so we can fight them as soon as the time is right. Can you do your part as well? For Maxill?"

Aretsuki nodded her eyes still teary but soon filled with determination. "I... I will. I'll be brave."

Tyranya nodded. "Good girl. You know where to go," she said, handing the girl a newspaper that had lain open on Shivis' workbench since they had first moved into the warehouse.

Shivis stepped closer and gave the young youma a hug of her own, flexing the lines of feathers that ran down her forearms so that they stroked against the fox-girl's cheeks. "And stay hidden, Aretsuki. Come home to us safely."

---

Maxill herself would have wished she could live up to her sisters' thoughts of her, had she been able to hear them. The Sailor Senshi had left the light on for her in that box-strewn basement, but that was as far as their hospitality had gone.

Her joints ached from having the malleable flesh squeezed out of them for so long. The ropes that bound her to the old chair were so tight that only her flattened, jet-black skin stood between them and the wooden chair legs and back. It wouldn't cause her any permanent damage, but it was very uncomfortable. The knots were so numerous and well tied that she had no leverage at all, unless she wanted to tip herself over completely.

She didn't relish the thought of lying on her side in that position though, so she had taken the path of least resistance and decided to simply wait until her captors returned.

It wasn't her captors who would visit her though. At last as far as she knew.

"That can't be pleasant," Haruka said as she emerged from the darkened stairway, clad in a simple white shirt and slacks. She motioned to Maxill's feet, which bulged a little where they met the rope, somewhat like a plastic bag that had been tied too tight at the top.

Maxill just looked at her new and unexpected visitor. "You're not one of the Sailor Senshi..."

Haruka's eyes rose to meet Maxill's. "... No," she said, slow and deliberate. "... I'm not."

If fact, Maxill recognised her. "You're the racer, the one who went missing so you could cheat on your girlfriend."

Haruka's gaze hardened even more. "I would stop there, if I were you." She reached into the box beside her and pulled out an old and dusty golf club. "I'm not the one tied to the chair."

Maxill didn't care one bit. "Go ahead. You're just one more type of human who deserves your fate."

Haruka cocked an eyebrow, took two steps forward, and swung. Maxill couldn't close her multi-faceted eyes, and watched out of the corner of her eyes as the driving iron sped towards her head... and stopped only inches from it, wavering in the air. Her head had never moved, but she breathed an internal sigh of relief. "You can't do it?"

"Believe me," Haruka replied, lowering the club, "I want to. If you freaks had popped up only three months ago, I'd have beaten you into a pulp. Be glad I've been taught otherwise since then."

"It wouldn't have solved anything either way," Maxill retorted. "You humans can't kill us so easily."

"It would have made me feel better."

Maxill tilted her head, offering it. "So do it. Your Sailor Senshi friends won't lose anything."

"Would have," Haruka replied, sitting heavily on the edge of another box. "Past tense."

She gave Maxill a limp smile. "It hurts to be powerless, doesn't it," she observed with simple dejection.

Maxill sat there in silent surprise for a moment. "... Yes. It does. You envy your heroines?"

Haruka looked resolute. "Do you?"

Maxill was surprised by that reply. "Of course. Their power destroyed my world! With that we could take your world in the blink of an eye. I could bring back my sister! Your Sailor Senshi would never have dared commit the genocide they perpetrated!"

"Genocide?" Haruka asked. "So that's what this is about? An eye for an eye? I know the story. You came to prey on us. Sailor Moon defended us the only way she could."

Maxill realised then that she had said too much. "... Why do you not envy their power? You could do anything."

Haruka huffed. "The only things I want can't be won by beating them into submission. I just want the chance to protect them."

"You care for them," Maxill realised. "They are apart from you, but you feel for them. You, and those girls you pretend to copulate with, and the Sailor Senshi, you are all intertwined."

This time it was Haruka who knew she had said too much. "As if you could understand, monster."

"I have never killed a human," Maxill justified. "Have you ever killed one of us?"

"Have you ever died for the ones you loved?" Haruka threw back.

"You have?" Maxill asked dismissively.

Haruka just nodded. She looked strangely happy about it.

"I would, if I could turn back time," Maxill finally replied, not believing her hostess for a second but determined to prove her moral superiority. "Because of what your 'heroines' did, I lost my only blood-sister. If she could be here instead of me, I would make that sacrifice."

As much as she didn't want to, Haruka could respect that. "I wonder."

"Believe what you wish," Maxill said.

Then, from the stairway, Hotaru's voice broke the tension in the air. "Haruka-papa? W-what are you doing down there?"

Haruka got up and strode to the doorway just as Hotaru emerged. "Hotaru, it's okay, don't come down here."

Maxill just watched, intrigued. "So... you play the role of 'father', despite carrying a child of your own."

"Shut up!" Haruka snapped, but Maxill was not about to remain quiet just yet.

"I wonder how you managed it," Maxill asked rhetorically. "Human reproduction would not seem to allow sisterly offspring."

Haruka was ready to storm out, but was stopped when Hotaru stepped forward to take a stand. "It was a gift," she said, her weak voice given strength by her conviction. "It doesn't matter how it happened, or who the parents are, or how strange it seems. That baby happened because Haruka-papa is loved, and it is going to be my little brother or sister. Somehow our family worked out, so it will work out for Haruka-papa's baby too!"

Both Maxill and Haruka stayed silent, letting that speech sink in.

"You know," Maxill finally said, "among youma, your polyamoury and reproduction would not be abnormal. We can arrange it."

Haruka glared. "Thanks, but I like us just the way we are."

Even without a mouth of her own, Maxill seemed to smile. "Is that not your problem?"

Neither Haruka nor Hotaru replied as they took each other's hands and left the basement. In that one respect, they knew the youma was right.

And the youma, despite her predicament, found herself adding them to her mental list. Those two, for all their faults, would make fine youma sisters.

---

Night had fallen again by the time Usagi had finally finished preparing dinner that night. It wasn't, however, strictly her fault this time, as she was both trying to cook and defend herself at the same time. No matter how gently Mamoru did it, Usagi never liked being told off.

"I'm sorry," she said for the seventeenth time, watching as he stirred the rice for her so that it wouldn't stick. "I just didn't want you to get into trouble again."

Mamoru shook his head. Even after five years her logic could still mystify him. "Usako, if my phone goes off like that I'm going to be leaving work regardless. It didn't matter whether Minako-chan and Makoto-chan had the situation covered or not. It is much harder to explain how a sudden family emergency can be 'cancelled' than it is just to leave for the afternoon."

"But you said they are starting to look down on you for all the times we call you away."

Mamoru just shrugged. "I have better things to worry about than what my bosses think of me." He smiled at her, and wrapped an arm around her waist as she added the last ingredients to the rice to finish off. "Just the way you don't have time to worry about what your teachers think."

Usagi nodded, finally understanding where he was coming from. "I guess so."

"And next time," Mamoru added, "I'm coming with you to visit our 'prisoner' too. I would have liked the chance to speak with a youma face to face."

Usagi chose that moment to lighten up, and she poked him in the side, letting out a giggle. "I suppose after spending so much time as one you'd know better than anyone how to deal with prisoners!"

He raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh? I remember being your black & white knight often enough as well."

"...Who then had to be saved in return," Usagi added with a cheeky smile. "My cute boyfriend-in-distress."

"Well, at least you didn't cut me out of the paging notice this time," Mamoru mused. "So, will you also save our meat from a fate worse than grilling, my fair and pretty damsel in shining armour?"

"Ohhhh, you sweet talker...What? Eeep!"

Mamoru smirked as Usagi raced to retrieve the rest of their food from under the heat. "I guess that makes us even."

"You just wait, Mamo-chan. Pretty Knight-ess Usako will have her revenge!" Then Usagi blushed as her stomach rumbled. "After we eat."

---

Rei was running alone again. Her friends never appeared there in the blackness, to run beside her. Had they stayed behind to fight what she was running from? Had they been forced to protect her, now that she could not fight death? Had that great shining fortress swallowed them because she had been too afraid to face it?

Rei could feel herself tiring. No matter how hard she gasped she could not get enough air to keep her going. Her muscles burned and her joints felt as though they wanted to scream, but still she tried to run. Because if she stopped running, she would be forced to fight. She would fight her. She would become it.

Then she felt the hand fall lightly on her shoulder, and in that instant her very skin was set afire. She wanted to scream, but no sound came from her lips. All she could do was shudder as the dream failed to shatter around her, and her holy fire filled her veins. Her faith, her past, her fear; they had caught up to her, and they gave her what she needed. Even if she didn't want it. Even though it would cost her dearly.

Sailor Mars stopped running. She had the power. She was made exalted by the flames. She raised her hands, said the words, and let the fire consume her soul.

In a single jolt Rei awoke, a soundless cry escaping from her lips. She gasped for air as she collapsed bonelessly in the futon. That same dream had returned to her, yet again. A little different, just as the last had been. These nightmare were become a nuisance, she thought, as her wits slowly returned to her. She didn't need this now.

She turned over to see Makoto's sleeping face resting against their pillow.

Especially not now.

She saw Makoto shift, curling up slightly, and one of the sleeping beauty's hands felt its way back to its place across Rei's side, grasping gently at Rei's pyjamas.

Rei felt herself going red all over again. "Honestly Makoto... You can't even wake up to comfort me after that?" she asked, but without the slightest trace of annoyance. It was nice to be so wanted, even in Makoto's dreams.

The making up that morning had given Rei an idea. After all the little things Michiru, and indeed Makoto herself had said, compounded with Rei's uncertainties, a common thread had come to the surface. One that Rei had been trying so hard to forget since returning to Tokyo.

Publicly Rei knew she had always been the pro-active one in their relationship. Makoto herself had said as much, being far more worried about making a scene than Rei ever had been. Rei enjoyed playing with Makoto, because her girlfriend was happy to enjoy it, and Makoto looked so adorable when she was happily embarrassed by the attention. As Michiru had pointed out, Rei was an outgoing and confident person, while Makoto was a far more personal, adoring romantic.

Which made her intense. Michiru had said Makoto's crushes had always been obsessive, and she was right. When they were alone, it was Makoto who lavished attention and affection on Rei, so much so that Rei felt swept away by it. She loved it, she could surrender all her self-possession, trusting Makoto with all her control...

Except that Rei cold no longer give up that control. All the pain, and grief, and conflict that she had suffered in Seiji had been because she had lost her control to Desir. That demonette had held her happiness, and even the lives of her closest friends, in the palm of her hand, and Rei had not been able to do anything to change that. She had been helpless.

Together with Makoto she had re-learned control. A control that meant safety for herself and everything that she held dear.

A control that she could no longer bear to give up, even to the woman she loved. It was so incredibly irrational, and yet now that she had realised it she could try and do something about it. She would have to re-learn that she could trust Makoto to sweep her away. How, she didn't know, but this evening had been a start. Rei had, for the first time since returning, taken the initiative when they were alone. Just as she had that night in Seiji, where they had slept naked beneath the same covers.

She had not let Makoto lead, and some small part of her felt saddened that she had to do that, but she had seduced the girl properly.

And Makoto had let her.

Rei smiled as she gazed at Makoto's sleeping face. She slipped Makoto's hand further over herself beneath the futon, and nestled in close against her girlfriend's body. Their legs laced together, and Makoto stirred as Rei rested her head against the taller girl's chest.

"Wh.. Where..? R-Rei..?" Makoto asked, her eyes blurry but her body warm as Rei held her.

"It's okay Makoto," Rei replied, smiling up at her. "Sleep."

Makoto smiled back down hazily. "Love you," she said, before pulling her closer and tilting her head upwards. "Sorry."

Rei closed her eyes as she was kissed, and she reciprocated gently, just enough so that she would still stay safe in her own heart. "What for?" she asked as their lips parted, but Makoto's eyelids were already drooping.

Rei smiled and shifted back down on her Makoto pillow, leaving a kiss on her collarbones as she went. "I'm sorry for waking you, Mako. Sleep well."

---

When morning came Maxill only realised it by the hunger that gnawed at the pit of her stomach. She had slept fitfully and her semi-solid flesh felt as thought it had been left to sag inside her skin for too long.

She missed Aretsuki as well. The little fox girl was innocent and naive, but she had been good company during their quest for energy. Some of that child-like insight and hopefulness would have been welcome right then. Even that human woman and her daughter would have been better than the darkness that surrounded her.

"Its morning, right?" she called out towards where she thought the stairs were. "You could at least turn the light on now! I'm going to have to eat soon too, unless you're just going to leave me to rot down here."

Silence was her only response, as it would be for some while. She began to call out more often and with greater urgency as the morning wore on. Anger, and even a little desperation, had long since crept into her voice when she began struggling in the chair again, but to no avail. All it did was stretch her skin and make her flesh ache more painfully.

She was not the only one agonised by the situation though. Sailor Pluto stood guard at the top of the stairs that led to the basement, but by 11 o'clock not a single one of her companions was willing to sit and hear the cries any longer.

"Pluto," Sailor Neptune said, the last one to finally break her silence, "for God's sake. Surely that's enough. If you won't let Sailor Moon attend to it then at least let's kill the creature and be done with it."

Beside her, holding her hand for emotional support, Sailor Saturn nodded. "This is unnatural, keeping the youma in limbo," she said, her strange form of speech affected by Hotaru's own feeling. "Do you intend to torture her into submission?"

Sailor Pluto shook her head, her face as sternly set as it had been an hour ago. "We brought it here to gain information," she said. "A desperate and frustrated captive is more likely to speak openly."

"And you've frustrated her enough!" Sailor Moon exclaimed. "Please, this is cruel!"

Pluto knew she could not postpone the inevitable forever. "Tuxedo Kamen..?"

"Open the door Pluto," he said quietly but with as firm a conviction as Sailor Moon. "You have done enough to soften her up. Let's not portray ourselves as too villainous. There are already people questioning our returned members' moral judgement over taking a youma captive."

From the back Haruka huffed. "There would be. Some people are ready to believe anything."

Sailor Pluto on the other hand just nodded. Tuxedo Kamen was right, she had done enough to ensure at least a little forthrightness from their captive. "Very well. Go on Sailor Moon, work your magic. I will stay here and await news."

The rest of them made their way down until Pluto barred the door again, stopping Haruka in her tracks.

"What?"

Sailor Pluto gave her a level look. "It was foolhardy to go down there, Haruka."

"This is my house too," Haruka glared back. "Just because... Just because I can't fight, I won't let you stick me in a cage."

"I am only thinking of your health Haruka."

Haruka nodded reluctantly. "But what about my sanity? This is hard enough already, okay?"

Pluto nodded in return and dropped her arm. "Very well. Just exercise caution, please."

Haruka agreed, and by the time she got down the stairs the Senshi had already put the lights on, and were receiving a tongue lashing from the youma. It was obvious that the lot of them had waited, otherwise they would not have come down in such a group.

Haruka found it strange, seeing that almost featureless alien face with only slight indicators that she was even cross, despite the anger in her voice. Equally strange was Sailor Moon's ability to put it past her, as their princess reached into the open storage box and pulled out the energy crystal inside. It was glowing only faintly now, Maxill having had several meals from it already.

"Here," Sailor Moon said, offering the crystal to where Maxill's lips would have been. "You said you were hungry."

Maxill glared at her, but her vitriolic tirade ceased.

"I'm sorry," Sailor Moon added sincerely. "We shouldn't have kept you waiting, but we..."

"We had a lot to discuss, considering the situation," Tuxedo Kamen finished for her. "No doubt you would have the same problems."

Maxill didn't reply, but she leaned forward and the front of her jaw stretched outward, enveloping the point of the crystal as she slowly began to drink.

"If this is all you are after," Sailor Neptune said as the youma fed from Sailor Moon's hand, "then why risk coming here? You call this survival, but surely you knew that if you preyed on us then we would retaliate. It is common survival sense. Given how outmatched you are, it seems far too risky just to steal 'food'."

Sailor Saturn agreed with that statement. "You would have to be here in great numbers," she added. "And if you are, then you pose a large enough threat to put down with proper force. Are the lives of your people worth that?"

Maxill wanted to ignore them, but she was far too riled at their treatment of her before, and put off guard by their sudden act of generosity. "Either we eat or we die," she spat out. "And we have you to blame for that!"

"How?" Sailor Moon asked. "We... I re-set everything. I brought everybody back, and stopped you invading us. What could I have done to leave you with no choice but to prey on us now?"

"Your silver crystal gave you one single wish, and you used it," Maxill finally said, looking up at the circle of stunned faces around her. "Don't look so shocked. Shivis, our genius sister, understood what happened. You wished to turn back time, to before you all died on your crusade, and you wished that Metalia and Queen Beryl had never existed, but what about the rest of us?

"You cut us out of the universe!" she exclaimed with righteous wrath. "You made sure history couldn't repeat itself even with our Queen and our Goddess. But you didn't know anything about our Kingdom, did you?! You just cast us out in our own little reality bubble, without even thinking of what would happen to us! We had no-one to lead us, and nothing to survive on."

"What?" Tuxedo Mask asked. "Your own world couldn't provide for you?"

Maxill glared at him. "Why else would we have waged war on you since the age of Silver? We wanted your worlds for what they -had-! Our people had always had to subsist on what we could take from others, a little here and a little there, since the beginning of time itself. Of course there would be brothers and sisters who wanted to conquer! If we had succeeded we would have never had to worry for food or power again!"

"And so eventually you just got used to preparing for invasion," Neptune observed.

"It was Metalia's will," Maxill retorted. "But what happened when you trapped us in that bubble of reality? We could not drain our Kingdom's flora for energy, it was immune!"

She stared Sailor Moon straight in the eyes. "So we had to turn on each other. We were forced to become cannibals, because of you!"

Sailor Moon could barely believe her ears. "No..."

"The strong trampled the weak, and drained them dry," Maxill continued darkly. "Spawnlings were easy targets, and those of us who weren't fighters only survived because we banded together with our sisters, sharing the energy of the ones who tried to hunt us."

"Then Shivis found you," she explained. "She discovered the energy trail as you broke through reality, and created a machine to force it open for us as well. Once it was complete we just had to fuel it and wait for you to do it again." Her voice turned sad. "By the time you did there were only a few of us left. We were the last sisterhood, escaping the few powerful tyrants who had risen to the top, and even then we did not have enough energy for all of us to make it."

"So here we are," she finished. "All five of us. Will you kill the last five of our kind?"

However, she stopped when the tears began to flow freely down Sailor Moon's face. "I'm sorry!" the girl hero whispered hoarsely. "I didn't mean to do anything like that. I should have tried harder, but I was only fourteen! I just wanted us to be safe!"

Then, to the alarm of the others, she removed her left glove and offered her hand to Maxill. "There wasn't much in that crystal, right? You can have more, if you want. I'm sorry, but I... I don't know what else I can do."

"Sailor Moon!" The other's exclaimed, but Maxill looked up at her with curiosity.

"I could drain you to a husk."

Sailor Moon just tried to smile through the wetness that covered her cheeks. "Will you?"

Maxill looked at the others around her, then turned her head away. "I've had enough. Besides, if I kill you, you would make sure to slaughter us."

"Yes," Sailor Saturn replied. "We would."

"But maybe we don't have to," Sailor Moon added. "I don't think I can make it right, but I'll try. If you can help us."

Maxill didn't know what to think of that. "As if we could ever trust humans, let alone you people."

Haruka got up and stepped forwards. "Maybe, but that wasn't what you said yesterday."

Tuxedo Kamen followed her up on that. "You should think about it, youma-san. If you're lucky, it might save your lives."

---

With lunchtime fast approaching Artemis was wishing he had made that detour past the old fish shop before trekking across town to Minako's agent's apartment block. He wasn't used to being hungry, and it was distracting him from an otherwise very satisfying bit of stalking. After all, he couldn't just walk in through the front door. He was only a cat.

However, while Luna was happy to leap through an open first floor window getting into Luna and Mamoru's place, Artemis liked a challenge. It satisfied the would-be hero in him, and the combination of window edgings, garbage chutes and unnoticed, lightning dashes through lazily closing doors filled him with a great sense of adventure.

He wasn't kidding himself though. Either all this exercise would be for nothing, or he would have to make an equally quiet and smart retreat back to Minako to confirm her suspicions. Still, he would worry about that when he needed to. For now he simply scooted past an affluent old dear, making her jump as he risked the stairs again, just making it into the tenth floor corridor before the door caught his tail.

"So, apartment 1012... this way."

Of course, actually checking on Mikiyo would be another trick entirely. He couldn't just use the standard catty trick of scratching at the door, because he needed to make sure that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He couldn't knock either, because his fur would muffle the noise and render the exercise pointless.

So, Artemis trick number two it was. With one deft leap he made for the door knob and, with another quick swat at that to give him the extra lift he needed, he could just about reach the doorbell with his hind legs as he turned to land from the apex of his jump.

One rung doorbell later and Artemis was feeling very satisfied with himself. All except that the door wasn't answered. He knew she was home, otherwise she would have collected her mail on her way out the way she always did. More to the point he wouldn't have heard voices inside, muffled but undeniable to his feline aural abilities.

After a little wait he pulled the same trick again. Either he needed to see who answered the door and get a peek inside before she noticed him, or he would have to try to look in from the outside. However, the voices had died and it seemed that either she or they, whoever they might have been, didn't want to be at home.

With that established Artemis grinned and padded over to the window at the edge of the corridor. "The difficult way it is then," he said to himself. Thankfully these windows always had a decent sill so he could just about perch there to open it before slipping out onto the ledge. Frankly the decorative sill around the outside of these building was less than ideal, but it gave him just enough purchase to work his way around to the windows.

What he saw confirmed Minako's fears, and Artemis found himself growling. The multi-limbed youma the Senshi had first battled had Mikiyo tied up on the floor, and she looked more than worse for wear. The youma seemed paranoid, no doubt because of the noise he had made at the door.

"And here I was worried that this was so frightfully boring," Myoshiya said, as much to herself as her captive. "Do you think that was Aino coming to your rescue? Did you assume I would just open up for her?" Myoshiya chuckled. "No, let's see if she's the one to leave, because that's all I'll need."

Then Artemis realised his position. This apartment was directly above the entrance, and all the youma would have to do was look down to see who left the building in the next few minutes. And she would see him in the process. He started to sweat. Did these youma know that the Senshi had cats as allies?

Myoshiya seemed to be creating a magic disguise for herself when she stopped, the image dissipating like smoke as she saw him. And she smiled, cutely. "Well look at that. Poor thing, tottering around out there."

She walked over and undid the window latch, opening it for him. "In you come..." she said, but Artemis wasn't about to be handled by her. If she somehow sensed that his energy was different from a normal cat's then he was in big trouble. The problem was he didn't have any room to manoeuvre out on the ledge, so he had to scoot past her and into the apartment.

"A-Artemis..?" Mikiyo said dully, staring hard at him.

He hadn't thought of that. Myoshiya didn't need to recognise him. Mikiyo would, and in her current state worrying about keeping a cat a secret was the last of her concerns.

"Oh, you know him?" Myoshiya asked, losing the playfulness in her voice. She picked up one of the magazine she had brought with her, as much to keep herself occupied as anything, and turned to the only pertinent page. "Aino Minako... Favorite foods: Gyoza, ramen and curry rice. Favorite pastimes: Volleyball, dancing and spending time with friends. Favorite animals: Song birds, and her pet cat... Artemis."

Myoshiya smiled, but this time with menace in her lips. "Well well, how fortunate."

Artemis didn't waste any time with fear. He dashed straight for Mikiyo and grabbed the knot at her wrists, trying to bite through it as best he could. The rope was thick but rather weak, and his teeth shredded it with far more ease than simple tugging and stretching would have done. However, Mikiyo - hungry, dehydrated and deprived of sleep - was in no condition to make the most of the opening he had given her, and Myoshyia simply knocked the girl out against the wall, her lowermost left hand grabbing Artemis by the tail as he tried to slip past her.

"You're a clever little thing, aren't you?" she asked as she held him up.

Artemis replied with his claws, kicking at her wrists and making a swipe for her face, cutting a deep gash across her cheek. Myoshiya screamed at the pain. Even though the wound was barely even superficial to her it had still hurt like hell, and given her a nasty shock. She clutched one hand to her cheek as it bled greenly, and she dashed Artemis against the window.

Artemis bounced off the glass with a dull thump, and it took him a moment to find his feet again. His only option against a real youma was a tactical retreat, since he knew that backup would not arrive in time to help him. And the only way out was the way he had come in, with no time for care about where he put his feet this time. Either he fell victim to the youma, or he took the window.

With a single meowl he jumped for the ledge and leapt, leaving Myoshiya staring in dumb fury after him. He would have to get to Minako and tell her fast, because who knew what that youma was going to do, especially if Mikiyo was in bad shape.

The problem was, as he righted himself out of reflex, he was now aware of the window he had just passed, and the other eight rushing up below him. He had made sure not to jump in the direction of the paved path, but he had still leapt out of the tenth story window of an apartment block.

Then there was the rather nice ornamental tree directly below him too. That would have been a bonus if he hadn't picked up so much speed on the way down.

'This,' he thought, with a distinct tremor of fear, 'is really going to hurt.'

---

A similar thought went through Mizuno Katsura's mind at just about the same time, but for a very different reason.

"Good afternoon, Meioh-san. What can I do for you?"

Of course she knew the answer already. She just hoped the artistic savant had no ill intentions.

"Good afternoon, Mizuno-sensei," Michiru replied pleasantly, but it was obvious that she was not quite at her best. She was pushing herself a little too hard to do this. "Is Ami-san at home?"

Katsura gave her a guarded smile. "I will see if she is free."

Ami, after reassuring her mother that nothing unpleasant would come of it, decided that she was, and she soon found herself in Michiru's car, being driven aimlessly around the Tokyo suburbia.

"The view is very nice," Ami complemented as they rounded a hill, giving them a vista over the countryside that stretch out beyond the city.

Michiru just nodded. "It is. Though I've never appreciated it as much as Haruka does. It seems a shame not to stop and enjoy pleasant scenery."

Ami agreed, "But it is Haruka that you wish to talk about, naturally," she added, very obviously addressing their shared love interest more intimately than she would have normally.

It got the point across. "So, you do consider yourself a contender for her side after all. You have a lot more resolve than I have given you credit for, Ami-san."

Ami nodded, though she did not like the fact. "So I keep finding out. If it had not been for Desir, things would have been different. She really did make things more 'interesting'."

Michiru could hear the inverted commas loud and clear, and looked out towards the moving scenery again. "Yes. That she did."

Ami, however, found herself uneasy as the conversation stalled there. "So, why was it that you invited me on this drive, Michiru-san? I do not think it was simply to learn my intentions, was it?"

"No," Michiru replied, a satisfied smile on her face. Ami was very good at knowing people. Even people as difficult to know as her. "I have been wondering a lot, Ami-san, but most importantly I need to know what you think of your child."

Ami took a long time to take in those words. -Her- child. Her own mothering instinct, however late it had been in coming to her, warmed in her chest. "If she wants to keep the baby, then I want to be its mother." She looked up at the clear sky, a faint smile of her own tugging at her lips. "I am not ready to become a parent like you did Michiru-san, but I think that is true for a lot of parents, when they face the reality of it."

"And what if I was to be the parent? Would you allow that?"

Ami lost the happiness in her smile, but she continued to stare at the clouds that drifted by as the drove. "If that is what Haruka wants, then I am not in the position to allow or deny you anything, Michiru-san."

In truth Michiru had expected a little more fire from her, given that Ami still wanted to pursue Haruka, but it fitted better with her own thoughts about the girl. "Very selfless of you Ami-san, but don't worry. Haruka has not decided anything of the sort, and neither have I, though I would be able to live with another daughter who was not genetically my own. I am surprised though. You don't seem to know Haruka as well as you think you do."

Ami conceded to that. "Given your time together I doubt I can hope to rival you in that regard, Michiru-san."

"So," Michiru continued. "Why did you decide to make love with her when you know you do not know her as well as you might like? You have never been the type to take that short of approach to anything."

Ami wondered why Michiru would torture them both with such a question, when it was bound to be a subject that neither of them wanted to think about. But, if she was going to ask it, then Ami would answer whether Michiru liked it or not. "Because I needed it. I needed the comfort like nothing I have ever known. Every time I wanted to use the magic I learned there, I needed to recall my most painful memories. I was afraid that, when we were captured, we might never find a better way home than to trap ourselves in that gilded cage. And I was lonely. Even with everyone there, I missed home, and my mother, and Usagi-chan," she looked down from the clouds to Michiru, "and you, and everyone. I am often given encouragement, Michiru-san, but very few people ever comfort me, even if it is my own fault for hiding that need away. After all that time I just wanted that comfort, and Haruka gave it to me. She and I had found that we could talk to one another again, as equals this time, and when I needed it most I found out that she would give me everything I wanted."

She looked at Michiru with that same determination in her eyes. "We chose to do what we did together. And I am not sorry that I could not let go when I should have, because something wonderful has come out of it. Even if it means I cannot share in it."

"As I said," Michiru repeated with a quieter, more reflective voice, "Haruka has not made that decision. I know that she will want the baby. She also thinks the same way that you do about your... time together, though she will not say as much to me, for the sake of my feelings."

Ami was surprised by that confession, and by those facts themselves. "Michiru-san..."

"I fell in love with her much the same way you did, I suspect," Michiru continued, "I had been attracted to her since the time Elsa first introduced us. She was rough and seemed uninterested, but that challenge excited me. We slowly became able to talk to one another, as equals as you said, and found that we had, on occasion, things in common. Neither our parents were wholly there for us the way we would have liked, we both had little use for our wealth beyond frivolous play, and we both enjoyed the arts, though Haruka would not admit to it at first.

"Our duties as Senshi drove a wedge between us though. When we awakened her as Sailor Uranus she was convinced that I had been manipulating her from the start, and she was appalled at the way Setsuna and I approached our work. It was a side of her I had never seen. She is a rational girl, and we could explain the necessity of what we did, but even after that I seemed unable to win her trust again."

Michiru felt uneasy as she spoke. She was admitting these things to her rival after all, but, somewhere in her mind, she had decided that Ami needed to know these things. If Haruka truly did feel for Ami as strongly as she did for Michiru herself, then both Ami and Haruka could be spared that.

"You see, Haruka may be confident now, but she still has many problems with herself and her self-image. Unlike me she was not careful with showing her more unusual interests, in her case almost everything from her clothing to her cars and bikes. She did not even know she needed to be careful about it. Because of that, when she discovered that she was so different from her peers, it seemed to happen all at once. Everyone turned on her in what seemed to be the blink of an eye.

"That was what made her angry and brusque outside her own circle, which at the time consisted of few besides herself. That incident, and the way she was treated from then on, has made her focus herself on those things that people consider strange. Much like Mako-chan I think, Haruka sees very little good in her appearance, and it took me a lot of time to convince her otherwise. Even so, I have still not convinced her into a dress or swimsuit unless we are alone together. It took us long enough to persuade her to wear her Sailor Senshi fuku, even given the sense of power that comes with it."

Ami remembered their little shopping trip in Seiji, and Haruka's resolute refusal over the clothing that Minako and Rei had suggested for her.

"She covers for that perceived inadequacy with her charisma," Michiru continued, "and it does her good that her combined charms, and the reality that she is in fact attractive, makes her adored by the younger girls. But what it doesn't give her is room to be sensitive, needy or, for lack of a better word, feminine. Those things have been hidden. She is a very sensitive person, more so than I am, I know, but instead of focusing on what people thought she should improve in herself, she rebelled against them. She never once tried to hide or deny that she was a lesbian, and she made sure to focus on her boyish interests and the harder edges of her personality, just to act out against the people who derided them."

"But," she finished, "that does not mean that the feminine girl inside her is gone. She has a passion for lingerie, for example, and no matter what she says she is no more Hotaru's 'father' than I am. She dotes on her, and the role of 'Haruka-papa' plays into her own attitudes about herself, but she has her maternal moments just as we all do. That is why I know she will keep the baby... and why I can believe that she does honestly love you. Before the problems with Galaxia you rarely fell into the trap of treating her as anything other than the person that she is, despite her jokes and her silly flirting."

Ami had remained silent while Michiru spoke, but her mind had been awhirl the entire time. "Why are you telling me this?"

Michiru gave her a serious glance from the wheel. "Because one of us is going to make her a happy woman," she replied. She was serious, but there was a light touch to her voice even so. "I have no intention of losing her to you, but I will not sabotage your victory either, just as I know you will not sabotage mine. We have always been rivals of a sort, haven't we... Ami-chan? I am afraid of the outcome, but I would like to be friends with my rival again."

It was only then that Ami realised what she had been doing. Michiru's history with Haruka, and their deep understanding of one another, was her weapon against Ami, while Ami's was the child that Haruka now carried. Today they had just levelled the playing field.

"I would like that Michiru-san. There should be no hard feelings."

Michiru shook her head at that little display of idealism. "There will be," she said with a smirk. "But we are both intelligent enough to deal with them ourselves."

---

Normally, when someone screams, they will attract just enough attention to get help if they really need it, and then only from those who can see what is going on or from those close to them, assuming these onlookers don't find the situation funny at their friend's expense.

When a superhero's mother screams, however, and screams like she means it, there can only be two outcomes. Either there is going to be a very long lecture on how to behave from one of them, or something is going to get the crap kicked out of it with deadly intent.

"MINAKO! ARTEMIS IS HURT! GET DOWN HERE, I'M CALLING THE VET!"

Minako flew down the stairs, barely touching them, and when she saw him she knew this was going to be the latter. "Oh my God!" she cried, scooping her cat from her mother's arms, not even caring that the front door was still wide open. "Artemis, what happened!?! Was it..?"

The cat just mewled weakly, knowing that Kikon was still within earshot. He was a terrible mess; he was cradling his right front paw against his chest and his fur was faintly matted with blood down his side. And he felt even worse than he looked. He was pretty sure he had broken more than his leg falling through that tree, and he had still limped and stumbled all the way back without being caught by any well-meaning passers by, just in case they took him away for treatment, leaving him unable to tell Minako the truth.

He looked over to see Kikon on the telephone, and let out a pained whisper. "Mina-chan, I'll be okay. I've had worse than this, probably."

"Probably?!" Minako asked in tearful astonishment.

"That's not important," Artemis carried on, ignoring her outburst. "That shiva-youma has Mikiyo, and she's in bad shape. You have to help her fast!"

"What about you?" Minako asked, steeling herself but still too concerned about her battle partner and confidant to abandon him like this.

"I said I'll be fine," Artemis growled. "Your Mum can deal with me fine. You have a mission Minako!"

Minako swallowed hard and nodded. "Mum!"

"What?! What?" Kikon replied, jumping from where she had been standing in the kitchen.

"Take Artemis," Minako said, with a rare tone in her voice that brooked no arguments. "I have to go. I'll be back soon."

"What?" Kikon asked, shocked. "N-now? You can't be serio..."

But Minako had already handed her injured informant over, and was running out of the door, grabbing her bag as she went and reaching straight for her pager.

Kikon couldn't believe it. "Minako! Come back here this minute!"

Minako was gone though, and no sooner had she sent the call to the others she had her communicator in her hand, and Usagi appeared on the small pink-bordered screen. "Minako-chan? What is it? We're coming already!"

Minako shook her head. "Don't come to me. You know where my agent lives, right? Tell everyone to meet there."

"Minako, wait..."

The leader of the inner Senshi wasn't having a conversation though, and shut the girlish device. She just ran, looking for a convenient place to transform.

Barely five minutes later she was there, the energy and agility of Sailor Venus' power having taken her right into the city proper, and she looked up at the tenth floor window. The only thing that kept her on the ground was knowing that, if she ran in alone, the youma would get away again.

And she wasn't going to allow that.

"Venus!"

Sailor Moon ran up, panting heavily and looking very concerned. "Venus, are you okay?"

Venus gave her a dark look. "They have a hostage, and they almost killed Artemis. Let's go."

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?"

Sailor Venus shook her head. "Artemis said we needed to hurry. I think that together we can take one youma."

Sailor Moon would have liked to discuss that, but Venus knew the situation better than she did. "Okay, let's go!"

In no time at all they were up the stairs, and Sailor Venus didn't waste a second, kicking the apartment door right off its hinges. Venus glared into the main room. The youma wasn't even trying to hide. Five of its hands rested on its hips, while the sixth pointed at them. "Sailor Senshi! So, you are more intimate with the Aino girl than even I expected!"

Sailor Moon struck her pose. "Agents and managers are the backbone of an industry fulfilling girls' dreams and entertaining the public! For depriving us of them, and making their friends fear for them, in the name of the moon I will punish you!"

Myoshiya just shook her head at the egotistic display. "And you, Orange Sailor Senshi, do you have any proud and boastful inanities to spout?"

The next thing Myoshiya knew was fear as Sailor Venus leaped at her, and in one move slammed her fist onto the youma's unprepared and undefended stomach. "You won't get away with this!" Sailor Venus said, standing solidly as Myoshiya hit the wall opposite and staggered to her feet.

"No matter," the multi-limbed youma said, two of her hands clutching her abdomen. "At least we know enough to be of use now! Queenmaker! Take care of these people!"

Sailor Moon and Venus looked over to the subject of the youma's words, and Venus felt her heart drop. "Mikiyo-san..."

Mikiyo stood there with vacuous confidence, but she was barely recognisable as the stubborn, hard working agent Minako knew. Her face was contorted into a freakish smile of cartoon friendliness, and her huge, unnaturally wide eyes seemed glossy and shining like a doll's with their single fixed and lifeless expression. Her face was over made-up and her hair, once beautifully simple, straight and black, now frazzled out from her head in caricatured orange curls.

But worst was the fawning, doe like way she held herself, wearing a bright red suit that showed off every overworked gesture of her now green tinted body.

"You had better buck up your ideas if you want to be famous missy!" the 'Queenmaker' squeaked, dropping into a computer character style combat stance.

It should have been funny, or ridiculous, or even just pathetic, but Sailor Venus found tears falling down her cheeks as she looked at the twisted and perverted creature that her agent and friend had become. "Sailor Moon, you can heal her, right?"

Sailor Moon nodded. "I'll try my hardest."

"Okay." Then Venus turned her teary gaze to Myoshiya. "... Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

Sailor Moon averted her eyes from Venus' bright attack and focused on the freakish monster that was dashing towards her. She remembered having so much trouble with these youma creations at the start of her career as a Sailor Senshi, but that had been years ago. Now she was worried about killing her, because if she did that then Minako's agent would die as well. Even her tiara attack, the weakest of her offensive powers, might be enough to kill the Queenmaker. Especially since these youma seemed weak even compared to some of the ones they had faced when they were fourteen years old.

Sailor Moon leapt, easily jumping the charging caricature and backing up, her sceptre in hand as the Queenmaker looked around dumbly for her prey.

"Hey," the youma-creation cried indignantly. "You have to work hard, or else you won't get anywhere missy!"

From inside its suit the creature pulled a huge red pen. "Maybe we need to review your contract missy!"

The Queenmaker slashed twice into the air, spraying two great arcs of ink towards Sailor Moon, who only just managed to avoid the strange liquid projectiles. Then behind her, her heard a creaking, and looked back to see that the ink had cut right into the walls.

"Wow, that's dangerous!" Sailor Moon exclaimed, but she knew better than to stand there being impressed. She levelled her sceptre at the Queenmaker and drew her power up from within herself. "Moon Healing Escalation!"

The torrent of light burst from her weapon, silhouetting the Queenmaker against the wall as it let out its cry. "Refresh!"

When the light faded Mikiyo sat there slumped in a heap, unconscious but alive and safe. Sailor Moon turned to help Venus now, but what she saw stopped her in her tracks.

Sailor Venus was the only one standing, and she held her Love-Me Chain in her hand, pulling on it as she looked down at her victim. At her feet Myoshiya choked and struggled, three hands struggling against the chain that wrapped around her neck while the other three clawed as Venus's heeled boot, pressed into her chest.

""V-Venus," Sailor Moon stammered, stepping forward, "what are you doing?!"

Venus just glared down at the youma beneath her heel. "I'm getting away with murder."

"No... you... are... not!" Myoshiya gasped out, but before Sailor Moon hand a chance to help the youma braced all six of her arms against the floor and lifted herself bodily off the ground. As soon as she was high enough to feel Venus trying to step down harder she bucked her legs, flipping them both into the air. Venus slipped backwards while Myoshiya turned herself on her head, before landing on all eights by the window. "You think too highly of yourselves Sailor Senshi!"

However, she didn't wait to gloat as both Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus readied their next attacks, and Myoshiya climbed out of the same window Artemis had escaped from, her hand and feet groping for purchase as she scaled the building like a giant blue spider.

The Senshi ran to the window, but they knew there was no way they could catch her. Venus just turned back and walked over to the unconscious Mikiyo, only now realising that she should have waited for more help after all. "Damn it."

And Sailor Moon watched her unhappy friend, worrying for her all the more now that she had seen just how dark Minako's serious side had become.

---

"Be a good boy now Artemis," Kikon said as she handed him over in his cat-box to the vet who had come to collect him. "Not that I can really say that to a cat, but still..."

Artemis thought he saw a glimmer of uncertainty in her expression as she had said that, but he put it out of his mind. He was far too tired, and he hurt far too much. "Mreow," he agreed from the cloth bedding of his travelling cage.

Kikon nodded, as if satisfied with that, and left the rest to the vet.

As soon as she had closed the door, however, her hand went to her chest. No matter how she looked at it, this was all wrong. Even for Minako.

She heard Artemis suddenly kick up a fuss outside, probably as they got to the vet's van, but she paid little attention to it. Instead she went to the phone and dialled a very familiar number.

"Hello, Tsukino residence."

Kikon swallowed hard. "Good afternoon Ikoku-san, it's Kikon here."

"Ahh," came Usagi's mother's cheerful reply, "Kikon-san, how are you?"

"Honestly? I'm rather worried," Kikon said, sounding it. "Minako disappeared earlier, and just when her cat turned up injured. I don't suppose..."

"Well," Ikuko replied, "I can't speak for Usagi. Since she doesn't live here now I can't keep tabs on her like I used to Kikon-san, but I must admit that doesn't sound like Minako-chan at all. I remember that she made a real pest of herself playing nurse when Usagi was sick once, just so she could stay here."

"The thing is," Kikon continued, "I'm sure – and I know I will sound like my husband here – but I am positive she was talking to Artemis while I was calling the vet. Talking like he was actually saying something meaningful to her! And I know she was too upset to be playing around. And the worst of it is that I can't even seem to entertain the possibility that my husband may be right. Surely, given the circumstances, I should at least be allowed to suspect!?"

"So you think there might be something to Yokozuki-san's theory of some sort of supernatural mind block after all? Really, Kikon-san."

Kikon knew she sounded crazy, but she was scared. Because if her husband really was right, in spite of everything her rational mind was telling her, then her daughter had lived this double life of hers all alone for the last eight years!

"But... what if they are, Ikuko-san? Even if they won't let us believe it, what if our children really are the Sailor Senshi after all?"

Kikon suspected that Ikuko thought she had finally gone off the deep end, but she persevered until her friend agreed to another meeting, assuming Kikon could also convince the others to come.

Kikon thanked her and hung up the phone, proceeding to call the Hikawa shrine next.

And, from the kitchen window, two bright fox-like eyes peered in, memorising everything that they saw, and very thankful that the stupid white cat hadn't given her away. This was very exciting news, Aretsuki knew, even if some of it didn't make much sense. Why couldn't this human believe that the Aino girl was a Sailor Senshi? It would explain an awful lot, Aretsuki thought, and it made a lot of sense. After all, the Aino girl had left just before the Sailor Senshi had turned up to ruin their plans.

Maybe the humans just had strange brains. Aretsuki didn't mind. It would make finding their enemies even easier, and that would make Big Sister Tyranya so proud of her!

---

To Be Continued...

---

Please leave a review with any comments and criticisms you have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.

(c) Nutzoide 2007


	8. Secrets Still Abound!

Shooting for the Moon: Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

---

Shooting for the Moon

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 7: Secrets Still Abound!

Parenting: The Toughest Road of All

It felt as though it had been a while since all five girls had been on a sleepover together. In fact, it had probably been before they had all finished high school. Of course, as they had got older, their pyjama parties had evolved somewhat from simply hanging out, and with almost all of them now starting into their twenties the occasion was as much a self-support group as anything else.

Sure, they still had time for fun and laughter, but at the same time it was one of the few occasions that they could air their thoughts openly on Senshi matters without having to keep half an eye out for well meaning grandfathers or parents. Invariably, when they did manage to organise it, it was Makoto's apartment that they all descended on these days, and that seemed to suit them all fine. Makoto herself could show off her culinary skills, and bundling all five of them into the small flat made for a very cosy and companionable atmosphere. Enough that, if they did have to argue, they would at least get the whole thing out in the open.

That Saturday morning, after the tense night had been soothed with oven-warm chocolate cookies and gentle conversation, it wasn't so much an argument that was given air to, but more a case of worry that found its voice.

Makoto, Ami, Rei and Luna hadn't heard the details of the previous evening's battle, but they listened equally concerned as Usagi tried to talk to Minako about it. Not that it wasn't easy to see where Minako was coming from either. She had been angry, and she had acted accordingly.

"Wouldn't you have wanted to hurt her?" Minako accused, feeling very singled out as the one at fault. "What if it was Luna with broken ribs and a fractured leg, and Unazuki-san or Naru-san who was turned into a monster?"

Usagi tried not to, but she had to avert her eyes from Minako's stare. "Yes, maybe I would have. But still, wasn't that going too far Mina-chan? You could have used a Crescent Beam and tried to knock her out, you didn't have to choke her."

Sitting on the table Luna decided to break up their discussion. It was painfully obvious it wasn't going anywhere, and they had plenty more to talk about while they had the opportunity. "More to the point," she put in, "the youma escaped. Believe me, I would like to take some revenge for Artemis' injuries myself, but there is no point if my efforts are made redundant."

"I know!" Minako snapped, not even bothering to justify her actions any more. "I'm sorry, I was stupid, what else is new?"

Makoto sighed and finally placed the dish she had been holding in front of Luna, before filling it with milk. However, she was obviously still a little upset with the cat, because she didn't wait for Luna's thanks, and instead turned straight to Minako. "They aren't trying to pick on you Mina-chan. I let the fox-girl get away too, remember?"

"And you both captured the black youma together," Ami added.

Makoto was surprised by the positive tone in Ami's voice. "I thought you didn't approve of keeping her?" she asked, knowing that they had both shared that view when the idea had first been put forward.

"Well," Ami clarified, still sounding positive, "I don't approve of keeping hostages, but we have learned something about the youma. We now know that there are only five of them, and that they fully expect to be able to defeat us some how. But most importantly, we know that they are not universally hostile. This 'shiva' youma seems to hate us with a passion, but according to Michiru-san the black youma seems to be sympathetic, at least to some degree."

Everyone else seemed surprised by that statement. Not because of what it told them, but what it implied. "You've been liaising with the Outers together?" Luna asked, using as much discretion as she could. "That is very good work Ami-chan."

Makoto felt a little twinge of guilt. She was still upset at Luna's attitude towards her relationship with Rei, but Luna seemed to have put all that behind her already. Or at least she was doing very well at making it seem that way. "That is a point," she added, subtly giving Luna her dues. "I hadn't thought about it before, but the fox girl seems hesitant to fight us. She only attacks us when one of them needs help or she's trying to defend herself, and this time she ran as soon as she was told she could."

"She is only a child. Unless she just naturally looks like one, I guess," Rei added, but that didn't dissuade Makoto from her argument.

"But she's a child that doesn't want to fight. That's good, right?"

Luna nodded. "It certainly helps us."

Ami took a sip of her tea, tallying their progress so far. "That makes two who might prefer not to fight, one hostile youma, and two unknowns. That definitely seems to be in our favour."

Luna frowned, suddenly realising something. "It is three unknowns. The youma lied!"

"What?" came the chorus of uneasy voices.

"How do you know?" Usagi asked anxiously. "W-why would she lie like that after telling us what happened to them?"

"Because we're her enemies?" Minako ventured.

Luna didn't have any better answer. "Probably. But I've been following up on the clues the youma gave us, and there are definitely at least three more we haven't seen. The leader, the scientist, and someone else collecting energy. The fox girl doesn't collect alone, and the multi-limbed one can't have been doing it while she was holding Minako's agent hostage."

"They're still out there..." Rei said slowly. These youma were still preying on people?

"I haven't found anything to point me to their base of operations," Luna finished, "but we need to find whatever is still collecting energy first."

Minako shook her head. She had thought that cutting down the youma numbers by one would have been enough with so few of them. Now letting the shiva-youma go might have been a much bigger mistake than she thought. "I'll be back in a second," she said getting up and making for the bathroom.

However, when she got to the door in the small hallway she was stopped as Rei grabbed her arm. "Mina-chan..."

"Rei-chan? What is it?" She gave her friend an embarrassed smile. "I do kind of need the toilet."

Rei didn't see the humour though. "Minako-chan, how do you deal with it? You know, being a murderer?"

That word brought Minako's humour down, and she stared at Rei with very serious eyes.

"Because I can't," Rei finished. "I... I need to be able to fight properly against these youma, but when I tried..."

Minako's eyes lost their angry edge as she realised that Rei was in the same boat as her after all. She just didn't want to let the others know, just as Minako didn't. "I don't know, Rei-chan. I don't think it's something I deal with. It's just something that I am. Killing a person isn't different to killing a youma. I'll do it if I have to. I know I can now, so why hide it?"

"No..." Rei said, looking into Minako's eyes and seeing nothing but honesty there. "It can't work like that. That's not who you are Mina-chan. You... you're stronger than that. You can't just tell me you've given up!"

Minako shook her head and took Rei's hands in her own. "I haven't given up anything Rei-chan. Killing someone just... I think it made me realise what being a Soldier is all about, even if I wear a sailor fuku to do it. I know how far I am willing to go if I have to, and I have you all here to stop me going too far like I guess I did yesterday."

Rei didn't want to believe it. "But I can't do it! Not like that! I don't want to go back to being like that!"

"Then," Minako answered, "find out how you do want to be, and be it. I know you can. Especially with a certain girlfriend to help you, right? You really should be trusting her with this. The 'Minako of Love' knows these things."

"Hey, what are you two gossiping about?" came Makoto's voice from the living room. "Is something wrong with the toilet?"

"Nope!" Minako replied, giving Rei a wink to try and cheer her up. "Just girl talk!"

"We're all girls Minako-chan!" Usagi replied, sounding put out at the phoney excuse. "No gossiping in secret!"

Rei wiped her face and nodded thankfully to Minako. This would remain between the two of them. "Oh, that's enough dumpling head," Rei sniped and she came back, sitting down next to a curious looking Makoto. "There's some girl-talk that's only for certain girls," she said, before giving Makoto a smile and pecking her on the cheek.

Luna swallowed a sigh and went back to her milk while Makoto blushed scarlet and took Rei's hand behind the low table. It wouldn't have surprised her as much, but Rei had been so possessive of her the night before last. That had been so unexpected. It had been the kind of affection that Makoto herself felt for Rei, and she knew that she acted on it when they were alone.

The thought of Rei loving her so deeply gave her butterflies in her stomach.

"Oi oi, Mako-chan's having dirty thoughts!" Usagi whispered to Minako. When had Minako she come back from the toilet?

"I am not," Makoto said in vehement denial, blushing all the more and making the others laugh. However, she knew that she was just digging herself in deeper, so she settled for squeezing Rei's hand gently where they sat.

And Makoto beamed to herself as Rei knowingly squeezed back.

"Usagi-chan, Minako-chan, stop embarrassing them," Ami said, reminding them all that she was still in the room. However, for once her small smirk belied her good intentions. She was having fun not being the one who was being embarrassed for once. Ami could remember that first night in Seiji when Makoto had confessed about her confused and awkward feelings, before she had even found the courage to find out how Rei had felt. It was so nice to see how well things were working out for them now.

---

For as much fun as she had had with them, Usagi had voiced those exact same feeling to Mamoru when she had returned home that morning. She was also sneaking in a second, late breakfast with him, since he had not had the same impetus to give up a lie in. Living with Usagi had slowly imparted in him a love of lazy mornings, since he got so few of them these days.

"I could barely believe it when they all first came back," Mamoru said, happily savouring his cooked breakfast while Usagi beamed at him. "Even if I had expected them to be attracted to women - and I can't think of two girls I know who I could have been less prepared to hear it from - I would still have been surprised that Rei-chan and Mako-chan would be attracted to each other."

"Mamo-chan," Usagi pouted, "that's not nice. Aren't you happy for them?"

"Of course I am," Mamoru said, mollifying his fiancee, "I just find it hard to see what attracts them to each other. With Haruka-san and Michiru-chan it's obvious, as is Haruka-san and Ami-chan to some degree, but Rei-chan and Mako-chan? I will admit, I'm mystified."

Usagi just huffed and popped some more food into her mouth. "They're good for each other. It's sweet, watching Mako-chan fawn over Rei-chan, and then get all embarrassed. And Rei-chan's obviously in love, and she plays around so much that she wants people to notice."

"I noticed that about a certain blonde girl as well..."

Usagi just grinned. "What? I want people to see how lucky I am."

"Well," Mamoru said with a similar smile, "if Rei-chan is anything like you then she must think she's very lucky indeed."

Usagi giggled, and had to try very hard not to spit out her well-chewed mouthful. "It's a good thing your ego is well deserved Mamo-chan! And anyway, I bet Mako-chan is a really good catch. She can cook and clean and dance and everything. She'll probably be a world famous celebrity chef or something eventually."

"And Rei-chan?" Mamoru asked, curious to hear his fiancee's opinions of the other side.

"You mean apart from being drop-dead gorgeous, with a great singing voice and good fashion sense?" Usagi asked in reply. "I mean, you did date her, even if it was only for a little bit."

"Well," Mamoru admitted, "there is that."

"Anyway," Usagi continued, "I think we all need to get together more often, and not because of youma or the world blowing up. Just everyone together as friends. I don't really know what happened, but Ami-chan and Michiru-san have made up, and Mako-chan and Setsuna-san don't have to work tomorrow, so we should all get together. I've got a great idea!"

"What sort of hours does Setsuna-san keep?" Mamoru asked. He had never really got to know her, even compared to the other Outer Senshi. It was clear that she didn't have anything against him, in fact she seemed very comfortable in his company, but at the same time she had always had a ready excuse as to why she couldn't socialise with them in the past. Or more specifically, when he was around. He put it down to memories of the Silver Millennium. After all, who knew what Sailor Pluto remembered that even Luna and Artemis had forgotten?

"I think she works really odd hours," Usagi said, polishing her plate, "but I know she's free tomorrow. I checked that it was okay for us to go over to her house."

Mamoru gave her a cautious look. "You're plotting again Usako."

Usagi just grinned with faux innocence. "Hee hee."

---

The morning atmosphere was more serious as the girls' parents and guardians once again gathered at the Hikawa shrine. But not by much.

"Kikon-san!" Tsukino Genji blurted out, caught completely off guard by the woman's genuine confusion. "Seriously? Has our shy girl started buying into her boyfriend's wild imagination?"

"Genji-san!" Kikon exclaimed in reply, before his wife gave him yet another smack on the head.

"Gen-chan," she said, picking up her tea again, "can't you see that this isn't the time for your jokes."

For once it was Setsuna's turn to take Genji's side. It was carefully calculated of course, so as not to arouse suspicion, but even so the others were surprised that she could see the humour in his attitude this time. "Honestly Ikuko-san, and I don't mean any offence to Yokozuki-san, but we haven't exactly taken these theories seriously in the past."

Genji nodded, keeping his good humour even as he nursed his aching head. "And Minako-chan is a rather flighty girl Kikon-san. You must admit that. As poorly timed as it might have been, teenagers - well, newly turned twenty years olds as well - do strange things under stress."

Kikon had been so convinced when she had called them all together. Now, in front of everyone, she just felt embarrassed. But then, wasn't that her husband's point? Wasn't their complete lack of ability to suspect that anything was wrong enough grounds for suspicion in and of itself? She had only been able to believe it because Minako's actions and attitude had worried her, but for no reason that she could define other than the fact that it wasn't normal.

They had said it outright in the past. Their children might be the Sailor Senshi. Surely grown men and women like themselves should be able to look at that logically. So why could they only dismiss the idea out of hand, herself included? She had now realised that she couldn't think about the possibility itself, but she could do what her husband had done. She could build the case, not from the source, but from the fact that she was mentally incapable of even -considering- the source in the first place.

And she said so. And then she felt even more embarrassed for saying it, and she found herself staring at her cup, just so she wouldn't have to see her friends' faces. It was just too ridiculous.

Her husband put his arm around her for the moral support. After these two years she had finally understand what he had been trying to say. It was hard trying to believe in something when the whole basis of your argument is that no one can believe in it!

Then, from where she had been sitting quietly with her own cup of tea, Mizuno Katsura spoke up. "That is the first time I have heard this idea in full. If that is true," she said uncertainly, "then it would explain a lot. It would make sense of a lot of things. And, scientifically, the theory is sound."

She smiled at the Ainos not wanting to hurt their already obviously bruised feelings. "But it is, by its very nature, impossible to prove. Unless Ami came and said to me that she is one of the Sailor Senshi, I don't know that I could ever fully believe that, no matter how many suspicions I have had since you first told me of it."

Setsuna listened with careful interest. She had thought Katsura would have been too analytical a person to buy into any of these ideas. It took a great deal of imagination and faith in the unknown to be able to circumvent the magic of their transformations. Then again, Ami had not been doing well up until recently, so it was only natural for her mother to have certain worries, especially after having her go missing for such a length of time.

Artemis had already been keeping both her and Luna informed of any developments in the Ainos' discoveries about the Senshi, and he had mentioned them telling Ami's mother at one point, but he was at the veterinary hospital now. It was such unfortunate timing.

"And that is the heart of the problem, Katsura-sensei," Setsuna said, not betraying her thoughts. "To be frank I think that, no matter how you may worry, it is for the best to let it lie. Worrying itself does nothing but make us stressed, and even if it is true then, as Yokozuki-san is so fond of saying, it is probably for the best."

Yokozuki nodded. "To prevent something happening to either them, or us. But still, I can't help but want you to realise the truth. If only so that we are prepared."

"Preparedness is a state of mind," Grandpa Hino said. He had been enjoying the meeting very much. He could always find the fun in their little 'club meets', but as Setsuna and Yokozuki had talked his old senses had picked up just enough warning to set him on edge. A glimpse of black near Setsuna's corner, the squawks of Phobos and Deimos out by the path, and a presence that felt... somehow unpleasantly familiar.

As he got to his feet Setsuna suddenly felt a pair of claws dig into her suit jacket. She sat still, not giving any sign to the others that anything was happening.

"Setsuna-san," Luna whispered, hanging onto Setsuna's back with her front paws. "Artemis was right. The youma know! They are here!"

Setsuna nodded, thanking whatever powers she believed in that Luna and Artemis' relationship, as rocky as it could be, was just as pre-destined as Usagi and Mamoru's. Luna had snuck in to visit him, and he had told her about the fox-youma he had seen snooping the Ainos' front garden as he had been taken away by the vet.

Setsuna had known something like this would happen, but having specific information on such an imminent event was going to be very useful this time around. "How many?" she whispered.

"Four."

Setsuna resigned herself. "Now would be a good time for that interrogation you wanted to make," Setsuna said. "Tell Haruka and Michiru as well."

"Are you sure?" Luna asked. She and Setsuna had already discussed what would have to be done if this ever happened. Luna suspected that Setsuna had known it would all along.

Setsuna nodded, and Luna made her escape as four women appeared by the opposite doorway. Four women whose impeccably tailored clothing dissolved away before their eyes, leaving coloured skin and hair and feathers.

'So,' Setsuna thought as she scanned their captors, 'If Luna is right, I have now seen all of them.' A feathered one, a muscle-bound one, the many-limbed one and a leader. With their captive, that left only the fox-girl unaccounted for.

Standing strong and upright at the front of their quartet, Tyranya brushed her long, vicious-looking nails through her mane of silver hair. "It is a pleasure to meet you, humans. I do hope you will excuse this inconvenience, but we have need of your services."

"Y-you... You must be kidding!?!" Ikuko exclaimed, staring in fearful awe at the creatures that had just walked in on them all.

"Not at all," Tyranya said with a wide, menacing grin. "The Sailor Senshi will surely come to the aid of their blood-family. And they will be far more eager to listen to our demands of them."

"So," Katsura said in as steady a voice as she could manage, looking the youma in the eyes, "if you need us, you will not kill us."

Tyranya nodded. "At least until we hear what the Sailor Senshi have to say. Your lives hang on their choices."

Setsuna smiled inwardly to herself, and a little of that smile crept onto her face. That was what she needed to hear.

Strangely, Grandpa Hino was smiling too. "And what makes you think the Sailor Senshi will come to our rescue at all? We are just a club of playful parents with nothing better to do."

Tyranya gave the shrunken, aged man a curious look, but she remained confident. "How long can it be before they find their blood-family missing?"

It just got better, and Setsuna had to force herself to suppress a full smirk now. Then she noticed Grandpa Hino looking at her, with the same smile on his face. A smile that worried her slightly because it seemed to mirror her thoughts exactly.

'They don't seem to know human girls very well, do they Setsuna-san? It's very lucky that their timing is so bad. So lucky it might almost have been planned...'

---

"Meow!"

Michiru would have been tempted to ignore it if it hadn't sounded a little too much like a bad impersonation instead of an actual cat's meow. She looked up from her book, interrupting her occasional glances towards Haruka and Hotaru playing on their computer console, to see Luna looking in through the window beside her chair.

She unlatched it and let the cat in. "Good morning Luna. What can we do for you?"

Luna looked serious as she leaped over the chair and landed neatly on the carpet. "Setsuna-san might well not be back tonight."

Instantly Michiru's transformation pen was in her hand. "Youma?"

Haruka and Hotaru looked over, the latter getting to her feet while the former just sat in resignation. Then to their collective surprise, Luna jumped up and snatched Michiru's pen in her teeth.

"What? Luna!"

The cat deposited the pen at her feet, before looking back up to Michiru, who stood in confused irritation.

"Firstly," Luna explained, "yes, it is youma. Almost all of them. Secondly, there are a lot of other people involved, and we can't afford to do anything risky."

"Everyone's parents," Hotaru said, surprising both her own adoptive mother and 'father'. "Setsuna-mama said she meets with everyone else's parents sometimes when she goes out for the day."

"Like today?" Haruka asked. She was ready for the chance to do something, even if she didn't know what she could do without transforming.

Hotaru nodded. "We have to warn everyone!"

Luna jumped onto the coffee table and put on her most authoritative voice. "No. None of the Senshi can turn up. Somehow the youma are immune to the magic that keeps our identities secret, so we have to make them think that they've got it wrong. If the Sailor Senshi turned up to rescue their parents it would prove who you all are, and it might even push a few of the parents themselves into being able to see past the transformation magic. Some of them already suspect the truth."

"So what?" Haruka asked. "We just do nothing?"

Michiru was far less outspoken, but she shared Haruka's worries. "We can't even let the others know."

Luna shook her head. "Usagi and everyone are otherwise occupied today. They need the day off, and most importantly they don't need to know that being the Sailor Senshi has put their families at risk. Even Setsuna-san will allow them that small amount of innocence. Setsuna-san will deal with the situation, and if somehow something does go wrong she will call us. Beyond that, the best course of action is to make sure that the youma's plan delivers nothing."

Haruka sighed heavily. She could see the point, but she didn't like it in the least. "Damn it."

"It's okay Haruka-papa," Hotaru said, trying to comfort her. "Setsuna-mama knows what she's doing, right?"

"Right," Michiru agreed.

"Also," Luna added, "this is the ideal time to talk to our captive. We now know that she lied to us, and that the other youma are busy."

Michiru nodded, and picked up her transformation pen. "I will take you down to her."

A flash of coloured light later and Sailor Neptune ushered the cat onto her shoulder before making for the basement door. However, both she and Luna were aware of Haruka's eyes on their backs as they went.

"How is she doing?" Luna asked quietly as they took the short run of steps down. Luna and Haruka hadn't really spoken since Haruka had given up her transformation pen, and Luna was still feeling a little guilty about how harshly she had spoken then.

"Well enough, given the circumstances," Sailor Neptune replied. "She will be fine. Hotaru and I plan on taking her out this afternoon, so that Hotaru can paint her." She smiled. "Then we will have a matching set, almost."

"Almost?" Luna asked.

Neptune nodded. "Minako-chan sat in my picture as well. Would you like to pose for Haruka's?"

Luna smiled. "Why not." It might be a good show of friendship, if Haruka wanted one.

But there were more pressing matters right then as Neptune switched on the basement light. "Good morning, Maxill-san."

"Maxill-san?" Luna asked, surprised. "She told you her name?"

Maxill's large, faceted yellow eyes squinted at the light. "It is better than being called 'it' or 'youma'. Is it time for breakfast already? Am I going to starve now that I have drunk all the energy in that crystal?"

Sailor Neptune shook her head. "You'll be fed. I heard that Haruka already offered last night."

Maxill glared at her. "You might well like that, mightn't you 'Senshi'. You are Haruka's soul-sister, aren't you? Her lover."

Neptune didn't say anything.

"I won't harm the child, whatever you take me for."

'For the same reason we can't let Haruka transform,' Neptune noted. 'Her life energy is intertwined with the baby's.'

"That isn't why we are here Maxill-san," Luna said, derailing that conversation before it got too personal. "Your fellow 'survivors' are certainly audacious. But then, are they really survivors? We know there are more than five of you; they've shown themselves. You've been playing with our sympathies."

Maxill didn't move a muscle, but inside she was shaking. "Alright, there are more than five of us. You would lie as well. How many of you Senshi are there? Including the man in black and white."

"Ten," Luna said automatically. "One for each planet of our solar system, plus the Moon of Earth."

"Not counting Pluto's little upset," Neptune said with an amused smile.

"That is a ridiculous modern technicality," Luna bit back, suddenly annoyed and explaining purely out of reflex. Only weeks before Haruka and the others had gone missing Pluto had been 'declassified' as a planet by the scientific community, and both she and Sailor Pluto had received no end of torment from the others because of it. "It supported its civilisation regardless of how that civilisation was spread among the belt! It was no different from Saturn in that regard. Even the Japanese government has recognised that."

Sailor Neptune would have remarked that they hadn't been given much choice, considering how incensed Sailor Pluto had been, but Maxill chose that moment to actually make her point. "Regardless of your planetary squabbles," she said, "you claim to have ten members. You tell the same lie as I did, for the same reason. You do not want your pink-haired child recognised as a target for us."

"Chibi-Usa?!" Neptune exclaimed. "She isn't even here!"

Indeed, Usagi's future daughter had long since returned to her own timeline, and now only visited when she could escape from Sailor Pluto's gaze, usually to see how Hotaru was growing up, and show off how she was growing herself. Considering how close the two were, it was surprising that Chibi-Usa had the patience. Hotaru got to see her every six months or so, which equated to several years of growing up for Chibi-Usa in the future. And soon she wouldn't have the excuse, because Hotaru seemed to have started maturing at a much more normal rate now. Setsuna guessed it would completely even out by the time she was only a year or so 'younger' than Usagi and the others, much as they were only a year younger than Haruka and Michiru.

"How did you find out about her?" Luna asked, looking daggers at the youma.

Maxill looked back with far less antagonism. "It is easy enough to hunt up information in this world. Especially about you Sailor Senshi. So," she finished, "now you know we are six. Will that make any difference? Will you kill a child like you would the rest of us?"

Luna's expression didn't soften. "I hope that death isn't the only way to resolve this, but that depends on what your fellow 'survivors' do today. I pray, for both our sakes, that they are as rational as you seem to be."

---

Rationalism, it turned out, would not be the problem as Tyranya, Shivis, Kiazi and Myoshiya held the 'parent's club' hostage in Grandpa Hino's own shrine. Boredom however...

"... and of course Usagi would never tell me we were going to have guests! She waltzed in after that study session with all four of them in tow, and she barely spared a breath to say they were all staying for dinner before they all vanished upstairs to her room!"

Both Kikon and Katsura blushed dutifully. "You have my apologies Ikuko-san. I would expect better of Ami."

Ikuko and Genji just laughed. "Oh, don't be! Ami-chan spent the whole evening apologising for intruding like that, and she was as red as you are now! So did Makoto-chan for that matter. I bet Usagi is still like that, even though she's the one who has to worry about cooking now!"

Yokozuki allowed himself a wry laugh of his own. "I can believe it of Minako, sad to say. That pair really did cause us all so much trouble..."

"And then they had each other to complain to afterwards," Genji added. "'Ohh, but Minako-chan does it too!' was a phrase I heard more than often enough, and I know Minako-chan said the same of our lazy Usagi, because I overheard them both plotting it!"

Grandpa Hino just continued to laugh. "Ah, such delightful girls, full of youth and vigour!"

"Full of cheek and evil plans, you mean," Genji muttered.

Setsuna smiled at just what those matured 'evil plans' would soon entail, but Katsura took Grandpa Hino's side.

"Really," she said with honesty, "they have both been perfectly well behaved when I have seen them come home with Ami. I think Ami needed that spirit to help her open up, or else she might not have made friends at all during junior high school. It was such a wonderful surprise to hear her saying she was going to go out with some friends so soon after she transferred. I was afraid she would remain trapped in her studies."

"Forgive me for saying," Kikon said, "but surely you wanted Ami-chan to be successful? I know that we have wished Minako would study with even a fraction of Ami-chan's diligence."

Katsura nodded. "Yes," she replied, "I have always pushed Ami to study hard, but I could also see that she was not always happy. I did what I could, but no amount of extracurricular study or activity can be a substitute for people like Usagi-chan, Minako-chan, Rei-chan and Makoto-chan."

Ikuko smiled to herself. "Katsura-sensei, I don't think that is going to change any time soon. I know Usagi has been very vocal about sticking up for Ami-chan recently."

Katsura knew it. "As has Makoto-chan, I know. And Ami seems to have reached an understanding with Michiru-san as well. It has all seemed to cheer her up no end."

Setsuna agreed. "Michiru, Haruka and Hotaru have all been in similarly better spirits." She sighed. "I have to admit, I'm glad those bridges were not burnt. Michiru and Ami-chan always got on so well. Much like Haruka and Mako-chan."

"But," Ikuko gossiped, "that is a girl I have never understood. Usagi even brought her to our house with a ripped school blouse after she got into a fight, and she darned it herself over a plate of her own biscuits!"

Katsura shook her head. "Makoto-chan is a good girl, who has probably had a harder life than she shows. When I first saw her I thought she belonged to a gang, but she has often been good enough to keep Ami company while I worked late."

Grandpa Hino smiled as he heard that. "Yes, she is something of a strangely bound book, isn't she? But I don't doubt that she and Rei will be happily keeping each other company tonight."

Yokozuki blinked at him, surprised at his acceptance of the situation. "You don't worry about letting Rei-chan out at night with Makoto-chan, you know, like that?"

Grandpa Hino laughed again. "Well, I would say it is a fifty-fifty chance that Rei brings her here!"

Yokozuki shook his head. "I know Minako is an adult, and what she does in her own time is her business, but if she ever brought someone home like that..."

"You forget," the old priest said, "that Mako-chan has been coming here since she was fourteen years old! I'm not going to question their relationship after all that. Trust me Yokozuki-san, 'traditional' values are not all they are cracked up to be. If they were then Rei would get more from her 'father' than a single visit every year."

Away from them all Tyranya sat by the door watching the sun set. They had been there all day, and had not heard a peep out of the Sailor Senshi. If Myoshiya could get the Senshi to come to her after only two days, then surely those 'heroines' should have been on top of them after only a few hours. They had always been unnaturally effective against the Dark Kingdom when Queen Beryl had been in charge. Was there something preventing the Sailor Senshi from co-ordinating themselves?

Or had they simply got the wrong targets? Had the Senshi come to Myoshiya simply because of their direct connection with the Aino girl? No, that didn't make sense.

Shivis appeared next to her, close enough to whisper. "Captain, unless we go public properly, this isn't doing us any good. And then, if we need hostages, we could use any humans who happen to be there."

Tyranya nodded. "And Kaizi needs to get the last of her harvested energy. We can't leave Aretsuki guarding it alone if this isn't even worthy of the Senshi's attention."

She turned to the gossiping septet and all eyes turned to her. "It looks like you were correct, priest. It will suffice to say that we have wasted enough of our time here. Whatever the reason for this useless little farce, we have no further need of you."

"I-is that a threat?" Genji ventured, getting to his feet.

Myoshiya backhanded him as she walked over to join her sisters. "Not unless you choose to make it so, human," she said, with annoyed spite in her voice. She didn't think Aretsuki had been wrong, but taking this low-key approach hadn't been what she wanted either. Now at least they would get to make the most of all their planning.

The parents just watched, and the youma walked away with no further word. It was deeply anticlimactic, but each of them breathed a sigh of relief once the coloured monsters had gone. "Well," Yokozuki said, a little shaken even though nothing had happened, "what more proof do you need?"

Genji almost choked. "Yokozuki-san, you're kidding! Even if you were right, when have the Sailor Senshi ever failed to turn up to something like this?! For all I know Usagi is blissfully unaware, shopping out in the city somewhere."

Then they all jumped as the shrine's telephone went. It had even made Setsuna start, and Grandpa Hino got to his feet a little more unsteadily than he usually did. "Hoo, that was a surprise I didn't need," he said. "But you are right Genji-san, Usagi-chan is most likely still out shopping with Rei, Minako-chan and Ami-chan."

He picked up the phone from just out in the hallway and silenced the hard ringing. "Hello? Ah Rei, what excellent timing. Did you all have fun? Ah, good. ... Yes, of course. I will see you tomorrow then. You enjoy yourselves. I love you too."

Both the Tsukinos and the Ainos were staring at him agog as he returned. "You didn't say anything?" Ikuko asked, amazed.

Grandpa Hino shrugged. "What is there to say? Nothing happened to us, and if I told her she would just worry for the rest of the night and come rushing home, for no reason whatsoever. Instead, she is going to have dinner out with her friends, and then spend the night with her girlfriend, and probably have a very good time all told."

Setsuna nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Nothing negative has come out it, so why spread the worry?"

'And it would be better if they don't know, if they are the Sailor Senshi. Assuming they really don't know already,' Yokozuki thought. 'They would probably blame themselves for it.'

And Grandpa Hino just smiled at Setsuna, as if silently congratulating her on a well executed plan of omissions. Setsuna returned the smile with one of her own. One that was willing to let things lie, as long as he was too.

But, of course, who ever said that a pair of friendly smiles had to mean anything at all?

---

To say that Katsura was frazzled as she walked home that evening would have been an understatement. Although she hadn't said anything, she didn't think it was too early to dismiss the Ainos' theory either, in light of what had happened that day. She doubted the Sailor Senshi were omniscient, and since they had organised today as a day out for themselves it wouldn't have been hard for the more uncompromising Outer Senshi to make sure that the youma wouldn't get what they wanted. But, regardless of the truth, she would be fine with it as long as Ami truly didn't know about what had just happened. Her daughter had enough to think about as it was.

And so did Katsura now. If, and it was a very decisive 'if', Ami was one of the Sailor Senshi, when had it all started? Had that been the reason she had first become depressed at school? No, more likely it would have been when she had started making friends again. It was strange to think that being forced to fight an alien invasion might have been the catalyst for a fourteen year old girl's emotional upturn.

Not that she believed it for a second. Usagi had been the reason for that, with the other girls following soon after. Socially, the fanciful idea that Ami might be a magic-wielding heroine wouldn't have changed anything at all. Though if it was true somehow Katsura would have liked to have words with whoever had thought of recruiting children to fight these pan-dimensional wars.

Then again, she had often wanted to have words with the Sailor Senshi themselves. Their battles often filled Katsura's hospital beds far too easily. Now, it was possible that she could have spoken to them at any time, and she found that she really didn't want to. Even as a scientist, it scared her that it might be true. She didn't want that kind of dangerous fate for her daughter. Ami was going to be a well respected doctor - that was all Katsura wanted. The mother in her was happy not believing. It was a shame that the scientist in her didn't feel the same way.

She tried to suppress those thoughts as she got home. She wasn't surprised to hear Ami pottering around inside. It was quite late after all. Katsura hoped Ami wouldn't mind dinner being late. Maybe they could eat out somewhere, if Ami hadn't eaten already.

Then she had to stop herself. Her hands were shaking as she took off her shoes, and she took a moment to try and calm herself. Whatever else she was or wasn't, Ami was her daughter, and that was all that mattered, Katsura recited mentally. She had already decided that Ami didn't need any more worries. Why was she hesitating now?

"I'm home," she called out, once she had finally managed to compose herself.

Then, to her surprise, Ami came to greet her, wiping her hands on her mother's apron, which hung around her neck. "Welcome back Mother."

Ami smiled a smile that Katsura had not seen on her for a long time. A simple, happy smile that just said she was enjoying herself. "I hope you don't mind," Ami said, "but since it was getting late I thought I would try to cook something for us."

Katsura felt her inner strength wavering. She could remain professional in the face of every casualty in the hospital, and simply seeing her daughter after today was tying her stomach in knots.

"Mother? Are you alright?" Ami asked, her smile replaced by a look of concern.

Katsura swallowed hard, and put on a smile of her own. "Yes Ami, I am alright. It has just been a... tiring day." She stepped forward, knowing that it would seem strange, and gave her daughter a heartfelt hug. "What are we having?"

Ami blinked as she was held, wondering what had just happened. "Umm... I was making pork udon."

Katsura forced herself to step back, if only to put her daughter at ease. "Pork udon?"

Ami nodded, still a little confused. "I know it is summer, but I thought you might be hungry after staying out late. Actually," she admitted, "I'm sort of making it up as I go. I couldn't find your recipe book."

Katsura allowed herself a smile. Ami never had been a child of the kitchen. "I'm sure it will be fine. I am rather hungry."

She walked with Ami back into the kitchen, looking at the various pots that cluttered the work surface as Ami went back to her noodles. She seemed to be washing up as she went, but was cluttering the space again as fast as she cleared it. 'I really should have given you lessons,' she thought. 'You never did say how you did in home economics classes.'

Outwardly though Katsura was happy just to watch, and was somewhat relieved at not having to sit on the floor any more today. "Did you have a good time with the other girls today?"

Ami didn't turn to reply, but her mother could see her smile broaden as she nodded. "Yes. We had fun."

"What did you do?"

Katsura had to wonder as Ami seemed to hesitate. "... We just went shopping. Usagi-chan, Minako-chan and Rei-chan all ate too much ice cream, as though they were still in high school. Mako-chan and Rei-chan made eyes at each other when they thought we wouldn't notice, as soon as Mako-chan joined us."

Katsura wanted to prod her for more, and for why Ami seemed so reticent, but Ami looked as though she wanted to say it anyway. She only hesitated because she didn't know how well it would be received.

"We... looked at baby things..." After that it seemed to flow from her like a torrent. "You see, we are going over to see Haruka-san, Michiru-san and Hotaru-chan tomorrow - Usagi-chan and Setsuna-san have planned it - but they haven't told Haruka-san yet. We're going to surprise her, and have a sort of party because we haven't all got together in so long, and Haruka... they think Haruka-san needs cheering up because it is all so complicated with the baby, even though she wants to keep it. And I know it's too early to buy baby things - we don't even know if it is going to be a boy or a girl yet - but Usagi-chan and Minako-chan dragged us around to look at them anyway."

Katsura had been expecting something like that eventually. She just hadn't expected it so soon. She sighed, but let out a chuckle even so. "You don't need to make excuses for it Ami. I know what it is like."

Ami blushed to herself as she finished heating the meat, embarrassed about her sudden outburst. "I'm sorry. It was just nice, even when they were teasing me."

"So," Katsura said, asking the obvious and more serious question, "I know it isn't really my business, but do you know how you are going to deal with it all? You and Michiru-san seemed to have come to an understanding, and I'm glad you are feeling better for it, but do you know what either of you are going to do now?"

Ami shook her head as she dished out the rich noodle broth. "No, we don't know. But we're going to do our best. That is all you can do, isn't it?"

Katsura nodded, but it did make her worry. "Then, are you sure that tomorrow is such a good idea? If," she swallowed hard, wrapping her head around the complex issue her daughter was involved in, "Haruka-san has feelings for you both, and you are both competing for her..."

"It's not like that," Ami replied, placing their bowls at the table. "It won't be. Tomorrow... that is neutral ground. We are going to be there for Haruka's sake, not our own. And I think Usagi-chan planned for this to happen too. I haven't seen Haruka in a while, so we are just going to have fun. I think that is what Michiru will want too."

'Alright Ami,' Katsura thought, conceding the battle, 'you know your situation far better than I do. Just be careful, and try not to be too upset. They live together, after all.'

She pulled some of the thick noodles from her bowl and blew on them, before slurping them up with as much decorum as was possible with an udon bowl. "This is good. You should cook more often Ami."

Ami smiled at the complement, chewing on her own first mouthful. Somehow she had managed to over spice the broth without actually making it any more flavourful, but it was still edible. It wasn't as good as she had hoped for certainly, but given how little she cooked it was only to be expected really. She could hardly be expected to match the eponymous Hyper-Mako-Noodles. As long as this was acceptable to her mother, that was enough.

---

As it happened, the Hyper-Mako-Noodles in question had done their work earlier that evening, and even an hour on Rei was still complimenting them.

"Ohhh, I'm so full," she said, one hand resting on her satiated stomach. "Perfectly, blissfully full."

Makoto smiled as Rei's head rested on her own bare belly, Rei stretched out on the settee while Makoto sat lazily up against one end, her legs arching by Rei's sides as she played with Rei's raven fringe. "You know, I did hear you the first forty times. I ought to feed you more often."

Rei nodded, smiling up at her girlfriend. "Yes, you should. I am never going to have instant curry again."

"I think we can arrange that."

Rei felt fit to purr as Makoto's fingers worked gently through her hair. Right then she was living out her perfect picture of contentment. "Makoto, those little bootees were so cute, weren't they?" she said, remembering the neatly knitted baby-socks they had crooned over that afternoon.

"Yeah," Makoto agreed, "cute is the word. I was so tempted."

Rei's eyes rolled back up to Makoto's face. "Really? She asked with a grin. "Why didn't you buy them?"

Makoto shrugged. "Ami-chan was right, we shouldn't get anything yet. At least, not until we know it's okay to. And besides," she added, "I'm skint, remember."

Rei sighed. "You haven't talked to Ami-chan yet? And I'd lend you it."

"Yes, I have," Makoto replied, "and no, you won't." There was a little bit of edge in her voice, but only enough to let Rei know she was serious about this point. "I'll deal with it Rei. It's just a good excuse to stop buying things on a whim."

"Well," Rei replied, mollified, "next time we see them, I'm buying them for you, and you can give them to her. My treat."

Makoto nodded in defeat. "Thank you. As long as they're the green ones. Any baby looks good in green."

"Then I'll just have to give her the pink or blue ones then," Rei said with a giggle. "It wouldn't be proper otherwise!"

Makoto's hand slipped down from Rei's hair to stoke her cheeks. "You can be so stubborn, you know that?"

Rei nodded, relaxing into the touch. "You can be too, you know. You just don't show it."

It was warm and comforting, letting her lose herself as she lay there. Then Rei felt herself failing, just a little. She swallowed hard and turned over onto her front, berating herself. Why couldn't she be allowed to enjoy this? She liked it, but...

She didn't let that unease show though. She got onto her hands and knees and crawled up the settee, until she leaned up at Makoto's level on the arm rest.

And Makoto seemed to understand, though Rei had never actually told her. "I won't be stubborn for you," she said, feeling a glow as she said it. It was cheesy, but cheesy was good when it made her feel as warm as this.

Rei's blush visibly mirrored that feeling and she dropped her stronger air, letting herself down to rest against Makoto's shoulder. "Sweet talker. I like stubborn, just a little."

Makoto nodded, wrapping and arm around her. "I guess that's good then. Are you going to bring anything tomorrow?"

Rei shrugged. "I don't know what. Unless you want some help to make a cake or something. I didn't really plan that when I came over."

Makoto nodded. "We'll make a cake then. I'll see if I can remember what Haruka-san's favourite is."

"You do remember that I can't cook."

Makoto smiled. "What does that matter? I'll teach you. It'll be fine."

Rei leaned back up, looking down into Makoto's languid eyes. "Thanks. I guess I can help wash up at least."

That atmosphere just felt too nice to let it lapse into silence then, Rei thought. "I really am full," she giggled, laying herself down flush against her girlfriend, and puffing out her stomach.

"Good," Makoto grinned, holding Rei to her. "No-one ever goes hungry in my house."

"I'll get fat," Rei teased.

Makoto just shrugged. "No you won't. I'll feed you properly, and you'll stay being the most beautiful girl at school, or at work, or wherever you are." Her grin returned. "It's kind of nice, you know. I won the junior high school idol!"

Rei felt that flutter in her heart, the good kind, and the nice awkwardness come over her as she lay there on Makoto's front. "Makoto, that was ages ago. But yeah, you did. I love you."

And she was rewarded when she felt Makoto's heart flutter in return against her chest. Makoto coloured visibly, and leaned down, leaving a soft, brief kiss on Rei's lips. "I love you too Rei."

Rei just smiled, but it was cautious smile, and she let her head fall down, resting her forehead on Makoto's collarbones. Could she really let it be at that any more?

She shifted her legs up until they were the ones that straddled Makoto's thighs, and she sat up slightly, tentative but more self-assured about this than she had been for a long time. Her hands traced down Makoto's sides until they reached the hem of her tank top, and they slowly pushed beneath it until they rested gently on Makoto's tight sports bra.

Had she been three years younger she would have bitten her lip as she glanced briefly at the ample cleavage beneath her fingers. "Maybe Snow White has had enough sleep for one lifetime."

Makoto flushed more deeply, and Rei felt Makoto's heartbeat quicken beneath her fingertips. Slowly Makoto sat up until Rei's hands pressed strongly against her chest, and she wrapped her arms around Rei, pressing them together as they lost themselves in a sensual, lingering kiss.

"She's awake," Makoto whispered as their lips parted. She put up no resistance as Rei pushed her gently back down onto the settee. They both knew that sleep would be a long time in coming, but that night it was, at last, for all the right reasons.

---

It had been at Artemis' request that Luna had stayed at Minako's that night, instead of enjoying her usual place on Usagi's old bed at the Tsukino household. Frankly she had thought it was just because the old sap didn't want Minako being lonely after getting used to having him around again, but she had been pleasantly surprised.

The Ainos were all too willing to spoil her, and Luna had found out what might have been the main reason Artemis seemed capable of being both knowledgeable and lazy at the same time - though she couldn't think of him as the latter without feeling guilty, considering what he had put himself though on their behalf.

The thing was, Minako was a great one to chat late into the night, and Luna had learned a great many things just from that one late evening. Minako was, as Usagi had said on occasion, a good deal deeper than she appeared. As Luna had now found out, Minako had been the first of them to create a new attack based upon the magic she had learned in Seiji.

"Why didn't you tell us about it before?" Luna asked the next morning. It surprised her that Minako hadn't wanted to boast about it, and even besides that, taking new training upon herself was a legitimate and very creditworthy thing to have done.

"Honestly, that move wasn't really ready yet," Minako admitted. "I only told the others about it yesterday, though I think Mako-chan gossiped after she saw me try it against the fox youma, because Ami-chan and her said they'd both been practicing with new magic too. Hee hee, Usagi-chan felt so left out."

"That's... very admirable, Minako-chan," Luna said, feeling a swell of pride for the girl. "What sort of attack is it? Given what Rei's... demon told us, I assumed we wouldn't be able to harness any of those powers you all mentioned."

Minako shrugged as she packed up her bag, slipping a large gift card carefully around her makeup things. "Well, it's not really anything like the stage magic I did. I just thought it would be cool if I tried something similar with Senshi magic, and it kind of worked, just not in the way I expected."

"It's like Ami-chan said," she went on, trying to remember her friend's specific words. "Senshi magic isn't as rigid as I thought it was. It's... mutate-able, I think."

"You mean mutable?" Luna asked, intrigued.

"Same thing," Minako said, waving it off. "We are used to using specific attacks that just 'feel' right, but that doesn't mean they are set in stone. Like, we have more attacks than Uranus and Neptune do, and I always wondered if they hadn't discovered others yet or whether they just honed theirs to be more powerful. Instead, maybe they just don't feel the need for more, and haven't experimented.

"I think maybe I've got the most well rounded moves out of all of us; a pinpoint attack, a wide attack, something to tie up or stop enemies - and generally just be useful, so I'm okay for attacks. I can just power up my Crescent Beam or Love and Beauty Shock if I have to. In Seiji though I just had swords, and I used the stage magic to make sure I could use them properly."

"So," she finished with a wink, "the Venus Honey Flash does that. It's like a small Sailor Teleport, but just to somewhere I can see, and it makes a flash of light so they're blinded as soon as I appear again! Clever, huh?"

Luna nodded, pleasantly surprised by the way Minako had thought it out. "It sounds like a very good idea. What have the others been trying?"

Minako shrugged. "No idea. They didn't want to 'spoil the surprise' apparently, those sneaks-in-the-muds."

Luna shook her head. "Anyway, shouldn't you be going? You'll be late."

"I know, I know " Minako replied, uncapping her lipstick. "Just let me finish." She sighed. "I wish Artemis could come."

Luna had to agree. "I'll sneak in to visit him. He comes home tomorrow anyway, so he'll survive."

When Minako had finally finished her makeup she dashed out of the room without a pause, leaving Luna to trail behind since the black cat wasn't inclined to ape Artemis' hitch-hiking approach today.

Then, as Minako shoved on her shoes in the hall, her mother appeared from the living room. "Minako? Where are you going? Listen dear, I think we need to talk."

"What?" Minako said, still getting ready at something close to the speed of sound. "Mum, I told you I would be going out today. It'll wait, right?"

She didn't even wait for her mother's broken reply before the door was open and she was gone, Luna following close at her heels.

"M-Minako, wait... And Luna too, just like Artemis. They don't act like cats at all."

Her husband appeared beside her as she stared at the closed front door. "I think so too. One day I am going to get that cat to talk."

"Honey..." Kikon said, turning to look at him with worried eyes.

Yokozuki took her hand. "This is Minako. No matter how hair brained she gets, she'll be fine." In all honesty he was reassuring himself as much as his wife. "She has been so far."

---

Haruka looked up from her small plate of salad as the doorbell rang, listening out for one or other set of feet that might start to pad their way down the hallway. She was feeling too lazy to get the door herself, and she speared another plum tomato, popping it into her mouth.

Idly she wondered whether this snacking was because of her pregnancy already, or whether that was just her most accessible excuse to eat more over the last few days. She didn't suppose it mattered though. She was rather lucky, being partial such non-fattening food.

Again, not that that mattered either, she thought to herself. She would be more than just fat soon enough, and everyone would start nagging her to eat more than just salad. She smiled to herself, lifting another leaf of lettuce up in front of her, and looking it over. She really had been going round in a lot of circles recently.

She seemed to have had a lot to think about in those few seconds between the bell and the voice that followed from the depths of the house. "Haruka, could you get that please?"

Haruka smiled and shook her head, taking a bite out of the greenery on her salad fork before she got to her feet, her plate still in hand. 'Well,' she thought, her laziness defeated once again, 'at least they'll see that they interrupted a good snack.'

When she did open the door she almost dropped the plate. "Dumpling? Ami-chan?" she said, blinking owlishly at the miniature throng that had assembled, all colourfully beweaponed with goodness knew what.

"Congratulations!" Usagi, Minako, Makoto and Rei cheered, all grinning from ear to ear. And Ami, at the back of the group, just smiled, feeling horribly embarrassed.

"Girls..." Haruka said, momentarily forgetting herself.

Her composure wasn't helped when Michiru's voice came from behind her, with Hotaru and Setsuna flanking, each wearing an all too knowing smile of their own.

"Congratulations Haruka."

Hotaru grinned. Even for her, with her seemingly eternal good will, it was too good a chance to miss. "Congratulations Haruka-papa-mama!"

Haruka was determined not to smile at that as everyone else burst out laughing, but her lips twitched involuntarily. "I see. Even in my own house, huh Hotaru?"

Hotaru just nodded, and produced a present of her own from behind her back. "Yep. Sorry Haruka-papa."

Setsuna was about to speak up concerning their guests on the doorstep, but Makoto managed to beat her to with, with a much more valid reason. "Umm Haruka-san? Unless you want Usagi-chan to start stealing this cake out here I'm going to have to get to your crockery."

"Well, we can't have that," Setsuna agreed, ushering them in while Haruka consoled a pouting Usagi.

"I only said it smelled good," Usagi moaned comically.

Haruka patted her on the head. "And who could ask for a better judge than my Dumpling?"

"You might want to be careful," Usagi said, beaming now that her compliment quota had been topped up. "I think my re-enforcement flatterer has arrived early."

Haruka had noticed at the same time Usagi had, and she could see it coming a mile off as Mamoru strolled up the pathway, gave them both a wink, and continued straight past to take the hand that Michiru proffered. "Michiru-san, as elegant as ever I see." He kissed it and managed a remarkable impression of Haruka's own rakish grin. "And the dress is very nice too."

From the doorway Ami still smiled. "Haruka, Usagi, hadn't you better rescue your better halves from each other?"

Usagi, however, had it all planned out. "Ah, Mamo-chan, you playboy!" she exclaimed as Mamoru in turn greeted Setsuna in the same knightly fashion.

"Setsuna-san, a pleasure, once again."

For her part Setsuna simply smiled at his staged charms, her usual cryptic air surrounding her again after her open greeting to the others. "Yes, it is, Mamoru-kun."

And Usagi, her target having moved on, fell upon Michiru with a theatrical wail. "Ah, my man is such a flirt, Michiru-san!"

At least that was all it seemed to be to the others, but Usagi gave Michiru an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Michiru-san, but... She's been too quiet all the way here."

Michiru shook her head, looking to Ami still standing politely at the entrance, and looking far too hesitant to join the others as Makoto cut the cake she had already unboxed. "Well played, Usagi-chan," she whispered. Then, aloud, "I know it all too well, Usagi-chan. Come, let us drown out sorrows in Mako-chan's famous confectionery!"

Mamoru sighed, watching the pair of them join in. "I think I've just been abandoned." He looked to Setsuna, and offered his arm. "Shall we?"

Setsuna simply seemed to consider him for a moment, but to his credit he didn't waver in the slightest. "Let's." Setsuna finally said, taking that arm. "You played your part very well there, Mamoru-kun."

The pair of them gave a very lost Ami and Haruka a glance. "Are you sure about this?" Mamoru asked quietly.

"We shall see," the cryptic young woman replied, her eyes lingering.

Haruka could only wonder what had just happened. These kinds of games had been commonplace among them at one time, but usually Haruka had played a much more active part. She looked at Ami, who returned that gaze. Was Michiru saying that it was okay? If so, what did that mean for them? This was exactly the situation that had caused her so much internal conflict up to this point. Did Michiru want to see her choose on her own, without being told what was expected from her?

Michiru had never had any middle ground between up-front and almost impossibly oblique. If the latter was how she wanted to handle this, the Haruka would simply have to trust her own feelings.

It surprised her how long it had been since she had done that.

"Ami-chan, don't stand on ceremony. I'm glad to see you again."

Ami nodded, her hands clasped down in front of her, around the small gift that she held. She felt like an awkward schoolgirl again. "So am I, Haruka. I have missed you."

Haruka was surprised by the way Ami said her name, especially with the others around. Just what had she and Michiru told each other when Michiru had visited her?

"I missed you too, Ami," Haruka admitted. "I'm sorry I made things so difficult last time." That was putting it mildly, she thought to herself. Accosting Ami in her own home after Michiru had found out the truth had been more than 'difficult'.

Ami shook her head. "Don't be. Here, I bought this for you," she said, finally lifting her hands and giving Haruka the simple box.

Haruka took it carefully, pulled open the yellow bow that held it shut, and opened it. Inside sat a small gold brooch, ringed with similarly small but carefully cut yellow stones, and at the centre sat what was obviously a star sapphire of a richly deep blue. The light caught the reflective 'star' of the gem only slightly, but it gave the brooch the most amazingly ethereal look.

"Ami," Haruka said, slightly in awe, "this must have cost a fortune. Where of earth did you get it?"

Ami chose not to confirm Haruka's monetary suspicions. "Actually, it was in one of the special displays at Osa-P. I couldn't leave it there. I thought that Sapphires would... fit."

"The gemstones of the sky," Setsuna said from the open-fronted kitchen, without looking away from the plate she held. "Fitting indeed." She was the only one not watching though, as Haruka and Ami had become painfully aware.

"Hey," Minako observed, "they're in your colours too."

Haruka had noticed too. Even if she wasn't allowed to transform, she could still wear those colours. "Ami, thank you."

"But no fair giving your present first Ami-chan!" Minako added, breaking the atmosphere. "How am I going to follow that?!"

"Well," Usagi said with a mouth full of cake, "it's not like she can give anything at the baby shower. That would be weird."

Haruka blinked. "This is isn't the baby shower?"

"Of course not." Usagi said, as if it made perfects sense. "How can we buy you baby things when we don't know if it'll be a boy or a girl? And men don't come to baby showers, so I couldn't have brought Mamoru along."

Minako followed up on Usagi's running questions without leaving a break. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet? Have you thought of a name?"

Haruka felt embarrassed, both for herself and for them. "It's a bit too early for that." Then she had to wonder, and looked over to Michiru. "Isn't it?"

Michiru nodded, and received her own plate of cake from Rei. "Definitely too early. They don't develop that fast Minako-chan. Let's leave that kind of guessing until the real baby shower, shall we?"

Makoto shook her head. It would have been nice to do all that now. "Ah well. Haruka-san, come and get some of your cake before this lot start wanting seconds!"

---

None of them had expected that their impromptu little party would have lasted until sundown, but that had been exactly what happened. It had been surprising how many stories had been left untold until then, and how different their attitudes all were now. In the past, no matter how friendly they had been at times, there had always been something in the way somehow, even if it had only been the rift between them as 'inner' and 'outer' Senshi.

In effect, this had been the first time they had all come together without that kind of baggage, and with only a few awkward moments of eggshell walking. Setsuna still seemed somewhat too cryptic around Mamoru, even for her, and Ami and Michiru had held a strange sort of air between them, that neither one knew exactly how to handle. It was clearly friendly, but perhaps too much so under the circumstances. Both sides seemed far too willing to care about the other, and to give ground to each other.

And on the flip side of the coin none of them had missed just how close Makoto and Rei had stayed the whole time. Obviously, Haruka had thought, whatever apologies had been needed were now long said, and the pair of them had made up quite comprehensively. And probably enjoyed it a hell of a lot to boot.

Hotaru had also enjoyed a lot of attention, which both Haruka and Michiru had felt a little guilty about. Their daughter had been another victim in their problems, but she was going to be the older sister now, and the younger girls had made a big deal out of that. Not only that, but Setsuna had aired her daughter's latest artistic offerings, and Ami had rightly said that Hotaru had inherited a lot of Michiru's talent, if not her style.

Usagi had wished that Luna had tagged along when they had been shown that painting, because the stuffy old cat had deserved some petting for making up with Haruka enough to pose with her. The pair of them had looked quite elegant, shown lounging in the dappled sunlight beneath trees, Luna curled up and napping in Haruka's lap while the boyish woman leaned back against a tree, looking out past the viewer.

"Hmm," Hotaru said, rather tired now that all the socialising was done and the other girls had all made their ways home - no doubt to pick up something to eat on the way. Hotaru lay on the couch, resting her feet on Setsuna's lap as they all waited for their own food to be delivered. "That was fun."

Setsuna could only agree. "Yes, it was. We aught to throw surprise parties more often."

Haruka smirked. "As long as I'm not the one who always gets surprised."

"But it was such fun to watch," Michiru smiled, relaxing in her own favourite chair, while Haruka had curled up in hers.

"You can be next then," Haruka replied with that same smirk. "Right Hotaru?"

Hotaru was thinking her own thoughts though, and the teasing humour in the words escaped her. "I think Ami-papa should be next, for giving Haruka-papa such an expensive present."

All three of her 'parents' stared at her, and all in equal surprise. "Ami-papa?" Michiru echoed, her good humour suddenly cut short. Where had that come from? And more to the point, why?

Haruka just blinked in surprise, reacting instinctively despite that it didn't mirror her own feelings on the matter. "Hotaru, don't so silly. You shouldn't say things like that."

Setsuna was surprised for a very different reason. She had not had much time to explore the many changes that this episode had made to future history. At least, not compared to the largely unchanging centuries that had come before, which had let her see and even experience many details of their possible future paths, as those paths had become clear over the innumerable choices that humanity made. "Hotaru, why do you think of Ami-chan like that? It was only a short while ago that you raised your hand to her."

Hotaru hadn't realised just how strongly her family would take it. However, as defensive as it made her, she was surprised by their reactions. To her it seemed natural. "I was angry then," Hotaru admitted in response to Setsuna's question. "But... Ami-papa is Ami-papa now, isn't she?"

It was as much as statement as it was a question, as if there wasn't really any other way of seeing it. "You all made up, and we all had fun today. Ami-papa was really nice to you, Michiru-mama, and you were really nice to her too."

"Stop calling her that!" Michiru blurted, not knowing how else to react to this unexpected and frightening turn, but Hotaru was undeterred.

"Why? Michiru-mama is Michiru-mama, and Setsuna-mama is Setsuna-mama as well! Ami-papa... Ami-san is part of our family now, because Haruka-papa is going to have her baby. So, doesn't that make her Ami-papa to me? Her baby is going to be my little sister. Why shouldn't she be Ami-papa? How is that any different from Setsuna-mama? You all love each other, don't you?"

Michiru just swallowed hard, leaving Haruka to reply.

"Yes, Hotaru, we all love each other. But it's more difficult that that."

Even though she was now a teenager, and one more capable than most, Hotaru didn't understand the reasoning. Her family had always been different, with such a strange dynamic between her parents. That was what was normal for her, no matter how anyone else saw it. How would it be any different with Ami there too?

"Why is it more difficult? She loves you, Haruka-papa, and I think she loves Michiru-mama too, like you both love Setsuna-mama. And I like her."

Setsuna was the one to answer that. "People's feelings don't make sense so easily, Hotaru. If they did you wouldn't have got angry at Ami-chan before, would you?"

That Hotaru did understand. People never made sense. If they did, she might have had more friends. "I guess not."

---

That night was a restless one for Kaizi, last surviving warrior of the Dark Kingdom, but that restlessness had been born of anticipation rather than worry or anxiousness. She hardly needed the sleep, so she had enjoyed it. The culmination of all their efforts had come.

The morning saw an early rise for her, and for every human that worked for her, or who paid membership to the gym she had instituted on the lowest floor of the small office building. The company directors and higher echelon staff were not invited. This was a meeting for those with passion, not financial reports.

"I'm glad you all came," she said, standing in her suit-clad disguise, addressing the small crowd that stood in the open gym. "I have not been here long, and some of my views have been controversial, I know, but in that short time we have achieved many things together. You have made this little gym of mine a reality, and I hope that I have been both a good instructor and manager to you all."

"Katahashi-san," one of the women asked from the front, "you're not leaving, are you?"

Kaizi smiled. "Hopefully not, but we shall soon see. I have asked you all here to answer one question. Do you trust me?"

The crowd murmured uncertainly, but once the first voice had spoken up the others soon followed, be it out of loyalty, company pride or simple honesty. "I do." "Of course, Katahashi-san!"

And then came the moment of truth. Kaizi let the magic of her disguise fall away, and both her clothing and her human guise evaporated like coloured mist from her body, floating down in streamers of vapour and pooling on the floor as it disappeared.

The gasps and cries were obvious as people stepped back in fear and confusion, and Kaizi stood there taller, broader, and more imposing than ever, unmistakable as one of the Dark Kingdom's people.

"I ask you again, my friends. Do you trust me?"

The murmurs came again, quieter, more uncertain and laced with a natural terror, but no-one ran. Kaizi simply stood there awaiting judgement.

Eventually several ripples of understanding moved through the crowd. It explained her physique and the strange story of how she had come to be employed. It explained her unsettling views on current affairs, and how she had been one of those outspokenly against the recent actions of the Sailor Senshi in taking prisoners. But she was a youma? Could they trust her? She had always treated them fairly, hadn't she? She was a good boss, and a good instructor. But she was a youma! They were preying on people only a subway stop from there! She hadn't done anything to them though. She had always said: what if the youma had reasons?

Slowly, very slowly, the crowd stood resolute, their courage bolstered by their own reassurances to each other. "I don't understand, but I trust you." "Yeah, you haven't done anything to us."

Kaizi smiled a strong, genuine smile. She had known all along. The humans were a good people. They would make fine youma. Theirs would be a new Kingdom, all as the same, powerful people. Myoshiya would see such sense in time. Tyranya had always been wise, she had always seen, and Shivis had come to see it as well, once she understood how their captain had planned for their survival. Maxill... if she was safe, perhaps she could learn in time too.

"Thank you, friends. We shall have a glorious future together. Come."

The crowd parted for her, and followed her out into the street.

It did not take long for people to start running, or to join Kaizi's small crowd, first trying to make them flee out of fear and panic, and then joining them to wait and see what would happen since there seemed to be no danger beyond the fear of the purple skinned youma.

Timed to perfection Tyranya, Shivis, Myoshiya and Aretsuki soon joined their sister, just as the first news team turned up. By then the crowd had become a sizable throng, and from the Crown Fruit Parlour next door Furuhata Unazuki looked out at them all from the window next to the table she was serving. "Oh my God..."

---

At that same time Aino Kikon stared at the television in fear, and clutched at her husband's hand. "Yokozuki..."

As he stared at the screen with his wife, the salary man doubted he had ever been so grateful to have a day when he would not be needed at work. This was something that he needed to see. Something they both did.

---

Maxill tried to blink away the sudden light that flooded the Meioh household basement, but without much success, since she was lacking when it came to eyelids.

"What? What? Is that you Haruka? I though you were going to forget me down here again."

Haruka stared at her before walking over. "That would be hard this morning."

Maxill looked down as Haruka knelt by her chair, and she felt the ropes go slack. "What do you mean? What are you doing?"

"Your friends have decided to go very public," Haruka replied, deadly serious. "It is generally not a good idea to give the Sailor Senshi ultimatums."

Maxill smiled, and luxuriated in the feeling of her sore flesh filling her wrists again. "I did not think I would be able to say this, but it has been nice knowing you as a human, Haruka. I look forward to your company as a youma, and a sister."

"Trust me," Haruka said, staring Maxill in the eyes, "whatever you have planned, it won't be going as smoothly as you like. Do you want your sisters to die?"

Maxill absorbed that, and considered. "Why are you releasing me, Haruka?"

"I'm not. A friend of mine called. Even if her own friends don't think it's a good idea, she wants you to watch what happens now, and she knows I won't sit here like a good little girl. She thinks that you will be able to help us, and help your friends at the same time."

Maxill stood up, now that she was able, and laid a firm hand on Haruka's shoulder. "Do you think you can keep me captive after allowing me the freedom to move?"

Haruka didn't so much as flinch. "I think you will come with me, because I'm risking so much for it," she said, taking Maxill's other hand roughly and placing it on her abdomen. She stood proud, her warrior's colours shining, pinned to her breast. "I can't do much, not now, but I can do this."

Maxill considered that as well. "You are not doing this for me, or for Sailor Moon. You are doing it to prove yourself."

Haruka shrugged off the assessment. She didn't need it. The question was simple. "Will you come with me, youma, or will you kill me here?"

---

"Hino-san?"

"Mizuno-sensei? What can I do for you?"

Katsura glanced over at the ceiling mounted television as she held the phone to her ear, her voice straight and businesslike as she stood at the reception in the hospital. "Have you seen the news?"

"Yes. I have. Will you go?"

"I am where I will be needed most, I fear. I just thought you should know."

The old priest smiled into the mouthpiece. "Do not worry, Mizuno-sensei. And you need not call the others. I believe they have decided on their own."

Katsura sighed, understanding. The Tsukinos were happy as they were, the Ainos would not talk from their own world of unproven conviction, and Meioh... perhaps Grandpa Hino knew something there that Katsura had not yet understood. "I thought as much. I just... did not know where you stood."

Katsura found her heavy heart lifted as the old priest chuckled. "I stand by my Rei, Mizuno-sensei. I am glad that you stand by your Ami-chan as well."

Katsura thanked him. After all, this wasn't the first time she would stand vigil, waiting for the victims that would be caught in her daughter's battles. She had just not known it before.

---

To Be Concluded...

---

Please leave a review with any comments and criticisms you have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.

(c) Nutzoide 2007


	9. The Youma Strike!

Shooting for the Moon: Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of Sailor Moon or anything that comprises it. This is a non-profit story written solely for my own enjoyment and that of anyone who wishes to read it. The story and original characters are mine. Please don't use them without permission.

---

Shooting for the Moon

- A Sailor Moon Fan-Fiction by Nutzoide -

Chapter 8: The Youma Strike!

Final Confrontations of Heart and Soul

"Humanity, we cannot survive you. Your 'champions', your Sailor Senshi, destroyed us. Now, just as they defended you from us, so we must defend ourselves from you. We must take a new Kingdom for our own, and you shall be the people of that kingdom, Humanity. You shall be made powerful, unique beyond your basic egos - you shall be our people."

So Tyranya had spoken.

"You cannot survive us, unless you become us. We will not live like refugees; we will no longer survive on scraps so that we can remain hidden from the Sailor Senshi. What was taken from us and destroyed, we shall take from you. But we shall not destroy. We shall create.

"The Sailor Senshi will not allow us this. They have shown their will to complete their mission of genocide against us, and they have their own plans for your future, Humanity. Plans you will not be able to escape from.

"We will not harm you, Humanity. Those of you who believe that, wait here with us. We will await the Sailor Senshi's attack in plain sight. Today we will see who will survive whom."

---

Sailor Jupiter looked down from the rooftop, watching the crowd in the distance. It seemed to grow every minute, slowly filling the street. "They had a lot of guts to do this," she said, her fists clenched at her sides. "Do they really think they can win?"

Sailor Pluto looked up to see the helicopter that hovered overhead, catching the first glimpses of them on the scene. "Whatever they have been planning must be completed."

Sailor Moon looked away from the scene to her eldest companion. "You don't know what it is?"

Pluto shook her head. "These youma breached their way into our time stream. The future is too changeable when it is so close to us."

"Let's go," Sailor Venus said, stepping up to the raised rim of the otherwise flat roof. "The longer we wait the more innocent people will be in the way."

Mercury agreed. "We are lucky that there is no traffic in the way, but this is dangerous enough for those people already."

"It is a good tactic though," Neptune said, as they made to move. "How are we going to fight without catching bystanders?"

"Just be careful," Sailor Moon answered. "They are the people we are trying to protect in all of this."

In turn they all leapt to the ground, and began the harrowing walk towards their foes. They couldn't make the first attack without risking even more people doubting their integrity, and that was what the youma was obviously trying to damage right now. Hundreds of pairs of eyes were on them, and Sailor Mars swallowed hard. "Where is Tuxedo Kamen?"

Sailor Moon looked at her. "Don't worry Mars. He'll be here. He'll probably make his usual entrance at just the right time!"

The crowd parted for them, in turns silent and worried or cheering them on, but as they got closer to their enemies those cheers turned to conflicted questions, and finally to outright abuse. One worked up woman even spat at them, and Sailor Saturn blocked the sputum with the blade of her Silence Glaive. She gave the woman a look, and at once the crowd on that side receded from the Senshi.

"Saturn," Sailor Mercury said gently, "don't scare them."

Sailor Saturn nodded, but she didn't say anything and instead turned her eyes forward to the youma who stood only a few metres ahead.

Tyranya stood unafraid as she finally came face to face with their nemeses. Her long, slender fangs slipped out between her lips as she spoke, and her deadly sharp nails made her gestures innately threatening. "Are you prepared, Sailor Senshi?"

Sailor Moon returned that look with sad sympathy. "I know what we did," she said, "and that we can't take it back. But we can work this out without fighting, can't we?"

The Senshi saw Myoshiya bristle at those words, and Tyranya shook her head, her silver mane swaying majestically. "We cannot live with compromises, Sailor Senshi. We are too different."

Sailor Venus took up the mantle of spokeswoman now. "You do know that you can't win against us?"

Tyranya nodded. "A few survivors from the Dark Kingdom cannot defeat all the Sailor Senshi, this we know. But," and she raised her hand, "our new Kingdom?"

Behind her Shivis held out an energy crystal, and slammed it into the wall of thin air behind her. The crystal hit home with an unearthly clang, seemingly stuck into an invisible hole there, and the energy soon drained out.

Tyranya smiled. "Our Kingdom can win."

The Senshi watched as the huge magical machine, a spiked metal shell the size of a truck, slowly revealed itself. An awe struck silence fell across the crowd as they watched it, the thing seeming to materialise right before their amazed eyes.

And, once fully activated, the machine performed its primary and most powerful function. The crystals that ringed the rim of the shell began to glow again, but with a swirling green and not the blue they had first shone with. A magical hum filled the quiet for a few seconds, the light growing brighter all the while.

Sailor Pluto knew there could only be one outcome to this, if they had been allowed so close. Using her powers as the guardian of time, she looked forward those brief few seconds to see what that inevitable outcome would be.

A split second later she turned to the crowd with urgency in her voice. "Everybody, run!"

A few seconds later, and the future had caught up to the present. The hum from the metal shell suddenly ceased, and the green light pulsed outwards in an ethereal green shockwave. Each of the Senshi felt the green light like a sickly pulling at their bodies, prying at their magical powers as if it was trying to rip them away. It only lasted a moment, but it left every one of them gasping for breath.

The heroines spun away from the enemies in worry, to see the thronging crowd behind them. A thronging crowd of twisted caricatures and contorted cliches, with skins and bodies and clothes of every shape and colour imaginable.

A hundred new youma, all standing in wait, looking expectantly at their creators.

Tyranya smiled, and flung her arms wide. "Welcome brothers and sisters! Do not worry, in time you shall outgrow your child-like facades. But first, let us make this human Kingdom our own!" She turned to Sailor Moon, who looked out speechlessly at the terrible spectacle. "Heal one of them," Tyranya said, "and twenty more will overpower you. If you do not harm them, I will allow you a quick end, by my own talons."

Sailor Pluto just looked at her princess. "Sailor Moon..."

Then, as Tyranya raised her vicious nails out in offering to her enemy, a single red rose shot down from above, slicing into Tyranya's wrist and embedding its stiffened stem into the tarmac. Tyranya recoiled, cradling her bleeding hand and looked up to the roof of the Crown Fruit Parlour, where the rose had shot from.

Tuxedo Mask leaped to an inactive street light from the roof, and dropped down to the ground. "You have enough power to heal them all, Sailor Moon."

Sailor Moon just smiled and nodded, and raised her sceptre. "Silver Moon!..."

Tyranya cursed herself for her naivete. Could Sailor Moon really be that powerful? She couldn't take that chance. "Stop her!"

Youma leapt from in front and from behind, but the crowd came too late, and Tyranya's sisters found the Sailor Senshi blocking their paths. "Not today," Sailor Venus said, catching Kaizi's massive fist in her hands. She couldn't hold the youma's strength for long, but she would hold it long enough. Even if Sailor Mars couldn't back her up.

"Crystal Power Kiss!" Sailor Moon finished, her sceptre casting a brilliant yellow light over everything that stood. It was a gentle explosion of power as the healing winds swept across the entire street, flooding the air with feathers and making the youma scream. It was their turn to feel their powers pulling away from their bodies.

"BEAUTIFUL!!"

Only Tyranya and her sisters resisted the urge to make that scream, and they were left panting for breath as they pulled themselves free from the Senshi. Sailor Moon could not heal what they had been born as.

Tyranya looked out over what remained of the crowd: nothing but the humans who had trusted them enough to stay, and who now lay unconscious in the street. "H... How can you have that power? Damn you." She pulled herself upright, and stared at the nine who would thwart her. "Then we must risk this ourselves. Sisters, let us go!"

At the same time Sailor Moon addressed her friends, tired and breathless after the effort of her attack. "Everyone, do your best. Tuxedo Kamen-sama, help me get everyone to safety."

The Senshi took their cues, and both Pluto and Saturn picked their target, moving in with their weapons without a second thought. The other Senshi were too kind hearted to take the fox-girl as their target, and yet being so fast and nimble would have made her a serious problem if left uncontested. After all, she would do little on her own, but she would defend her sisters.

Aretsuki, wild eyed and scared, took flight the second she saw the pair of Senshi close in on her. She wanted to help her sisters, but the Senshi were so powerful, and these two had weapons! "L-leave me alone!" she screamed, dashing to the pavement. "I hate you Senshi! I hate you!"

Pluto replied with a whispered, "Dead Scream," and her coils of purple magic balled atop her staff before being launched at the speedy youma. Aretsuki screamed and leaped to one side as Pluto's attack tore into the concrete wall behind her, but that put her within reach of Saturn's Silence Glaive, and the huge pole-arm sliced down her side, only cutting fur and skin but causing enough pain to make the young youma panic.

"Leave me ALONE!"

Aretsuki took off on all fours, but she could no longer think beyond getting out of the way of her pursuers. A glance passed between Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn as they ran, ready to corral the fox-girl once again as soon as she got to the other side of the street. They had done enough already. All they needed was to keep up with their target, and they could keep her out of the real fight. Two of the most powerful Senshi might have seemed like a high price to pay for it, but that also played into their own plans. They had removed a full half of the wild element from the fight. The rest would be child's play, assuming the giant metal turtle's shell had already done everything it could.

-

The feathered one, they had all guessed, would have been the least threatening. She was obviously frail, even for a youma, and so the other Senshi had all picked other targets. Just as Sailor Mars seemed to hesitate, so Shivis did the same, and that appeared to be that. Sailor Mars scrunched up her courage and stepped forward. This was her target, and she had to do her part.

Shivis, however, had her intelligence. She had known Sailor Mars was the most likely to hesitate, so it had been her that she had gone for when Tyranya had sounded the charge, and not Sailor Moon. That left her up against the Senshi that would give her the most freedom to act.

As soon as Mars made her move Shivis broke into a dash, casting her arm backwards towards the girl and throwing out a flurry of feathers from her own skin, launching them like darts. Sailor Mars had to leap back to avoid being turned into an avian's pin-cushion, and that gave Shivis just enough time to get what she needed from the bag that lay unattended on the floor by the giant mental shell.

Mars recovered just in time to see what Shivis had intended. The feathered youma had hefted a large device from her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and taken aim. To Mars' horror, this youma-made gun was huge, venting plumes of bright blue smoke from the ports in its bazooka-like barrel. And worst of all it was not pointing at Mars herself.

Shivis' plan had relied on her single shot, exchanging the one meaningful attack she could make for the Senshi that posed them the most threat. Shivis gritted her teeth, aimed for the heart, and pulled the trigger.

"SAILOR MOON!"

Mars' screamed warning came only as the blue-white laser of searing magical energy hit its target squarely between the shoulder blades, and sixty feet away Sailor Moon's eyes flew open in pain as she arched from the impact. The conscious people she was helping to safety screamed and ran as Sailor Moon fell backwards, still on her knees.

Shivis let out a contented sigh, and lowered her spent weapon. There was no point waiting for it to recharge. She had done her work for her Captain and sisters. She could die in peace.

Except that death didn't come. She looked up to see Mars running, screaming out her tears until she reached her dearest and most annoying friend, and likewise Tuxedo Kamen had left his charges and was by her side, cradling her in his arms as Sailor Mars took her hand.

"Sailor Moon, please be okay! I'm sorry! I should have done something sooner!"

Tuxedo Kamen was in shock that anything could have felled Sailor Moon in one blow, but to his eternal relief she could still look up at him, and squeeze on the hands that he and Sailor Mars held. "I... I'm okay, I think. It really hurts though. W-what happened?"

"Stupid!" Mars shouted through her tears. "You've been shot! Don't talk!"

Tuxedo Kamen nodded in agreement. "She's right, I'll take you somewhere safe, and we can see how badly you're hit."

He lifted her up gently, until Sailor Mars let out another gasp. "Oh God, Kamen, her sailor fuku has been burned right through. It's really bad."

"Ahh," Sailor Moon whimpered, "don't say that! It makes it hurt more!"

"No, no," Mars rectified, "you'll be okay, you're not bleeding or anything, it's just burns, you'll be fine. We're the Sailor Senshi, remember? You'll heal no problem."

Tuxedo Kamen squeezed Sailor Moon's hand in reassurance. "I won't let anything happen to you, Sailor Moon. Come on, I'll get you somewhere safe."

"No," Sailor Moon replied, with obvious effort. "We have to wait for Haruka-san!"

"You didn't tell her to come here, did you?!" Tuxedo Kamen asked, astonished.

Sailor Moon smiled. "She wouldn't have stayed at home. It's okay. I planned it."

"As if that makes this any better," Mars chastised, though her worry had taken all the edge from her voice.

-

Surely enough Sailor Moon had only just persuaded them to let her stand on her own, even if she needed Tuxedo Kamen's shoulder to keep her upright, when they saw Haruka's red convertible speed up, coming to a racing stop only a few feet from them.

"Sailor Moon!" she exclaimed, leaping out of the car and up to her future princess. "What happened!?"

Sailor Moon smiled through the pain. "I just got hurt a little when I wasn't looking."

"That feathered youma..." Mars said, balling her fists.

Maxill looked at them from the back seat. "Shivis? So she made herself a weapon as well."

"Ah, good," Sailor Moon said as she saw Maxill, "you brought her."

As Haruka looked out to the battlefield Sailor Mars stared at Moon in disbelief. "Why did you want to bring -her-?" she asked, a mixture of confusion and fear filling her as she raised her fingertips, ready to attack if she had to.

Sailor Moon just shook her head, the combination of pain and exhaustion making her head foggy. "Maxill, just watch. Just watch it."

And Maxill watched as Haruka leaped back into her car, driving right for the battlefield.

"What is she doing?!"

Tuxedo Kamen helped Sailor Moon down again, so she could sit on the curb. "That is what I would like to know."

For Haruka it was simple though. She couldn't do much now, but she wasn't completely helpless. She needed to be better than that, if only for herself, and her baby. She gunned the engine.

It was strange how scared she felt. With her sailor fuku on, even if she disliked the style, she was always filled with a sense of power, as if battle was filled with an air of adventure. The magic of her transformation made it... almost thrilling.

Now, as Tenoh Haruka, she was terrified. She wanted nothing more than to turn the wheel and flee, like those few stragglers who still clambered to their feet behind her. She guessed human determination was a wonderful thing, because she didn't turn back. She was going to do her bit to fight, and to take revenge for Sailor Moon.

Shivis, now with no-one to fight, had chosen Sailor Pluto to hassle. She couldn't actually threaten the Senshi, but it made it harder for them to attack Aretsuki. Unfortunately for her, that meant her full attention was on Sailor Pluto's staff, and she only heard the noise of Haruka's approach as the car appeared through the wisps of a Dead Scream. Shivis's weak feather projectiles scored harmlessly across the car's bonnet and windscreen, and the car ploughed into her effortlessly, tossing her up and over in a whirl of yellow feathered limbs.

She landed heavily on the tarmac, rolling briefly from the speeding impact, and she tried to struggle to her hands and knees. Only her unnatural toughness as a youma had kept her alive after being hit at such a speed, and even then she was barely conscious. That consciousness was dealt with when Sailor Pluto's staff was brought down, smashing her on the back of the head and putting her out of the fight.

Pluto looked up from the feathered youma, obviously not amused that Haruka had come, but Haruka looked defiant, having brought her car to a stop. It looked like she had had the same idea as Pluto, as she had already reached into the back seat for the golf club that lay there. Pluto would have to talk to her later, but right then she needed to get back to helping Sailor Saturn. The sooner she and Saturn could trap the fox-girl behind a Silence Wall the better, as it seemed that the youma was showing no signs of tiring.

Haruka was also reminded just how much danger she had just put herself in, as from the top of the metal shell Kaizi looked down at her fallen sister. "Shivis! You sadistic human!" she shouted, and flexing one mighty arm she punched out towards Haruka.

The attack shot from her fist, the force of the punch smashing into Haruka's red convertible as she hit the accelerator, crushing the side of the car only inches from where Haruka sat as she sped off. Had that attack hit her, even with a glancing blow, Haruka doubted that she would have survived it as she looked in her wing mirror to see the impact crater that the rear side of her chassis had become.

Kaizi could not take another shot as Haruka disappeared though, as Sailor Venus appeared in front of her in a flash of light, looking tired and put out at the youma's constantly changing priorities. "Hey! I said I'm the one you're fighting!"

Kaizi roared and swung at her, leaving Venus to leap back to the street once again to avoid getting hammered. "Slowpoke! ... Hey!"

She could only watch as Kaizi ignored her completely and corkscrewed open a hatch in the top of the shell, and got inside. It was too cramped in there for Kaizi's muscular bulk, but she knew that it was time to play their last card, before any more of her sisters got hurt. Remembering the instructions that Shivis had given them, she started pulling levers.

"Hey!," Venus shouted ineffectually. "I said -fighting-, not -hiding-."

Then, slowly, the huge spiked shell began to spin on its base. Sailor Venus watched, confused as the huge magical machine started to grind up the tarmac beneath it. Then, as it got faster, Venus realised what it was doing. It was surfing on the loose gravel it had just made, until it was spinning like a top. The energy crystals that ran along the side had blurred into a single line of greenish blue colour, and Venus swallowed as the thing slowly advanced towards her.

"Oh boy." She shot out her Crescent Beam without any real effect, and she tried smashing the crystals around the side with her Love-Me Chain, but while she could break them it didn't even begin to slow the machine down.

After that she only had one idea left. "Venus Spinning Stomp!" she cried, leaping high into the air for her improvised attack, spinning like a ballerina and landing right on the top of the shell, to deliver a crippling kick straight down onto it.

That was even more useless that the Crescent Beam had been, and Venus found herself twisted off balance until one of the conical spines slammed into her. The impact sent her flying and she landed right on top of Jupiter, Neptune and Tyranya, bowling them over like pins and breaking up their close quarters brawl.

Neptune had to blink away the stars in her eyes as both she and Tyranya staggered back to their feet. Both of them wore a few scratches, bleeding slightly, while Jupiter took Venus by the collar, sporting another cut of her own thanks to Venus' kamikaze landing. "What do you think you are doing?! We had her on the defensive!"

Venus tried to focus on her friends' face, but the world was spinning too much. "Eh, sorry. It worked for Super Mario!"

Jupiter decided to leave her there, as she saw Neptune trying to put some distance between herself and Tyranya's claw-like nails. "What? And to think we were worried about you being too serious! Just try and think of a way to stop that thing before it destroys the street! Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

-

Meanwhile, Mercury and Myoshiya had chosen each other to fight. Mercury was one of the least combat oriented Senshi, and Myoshiya had decided that her chances against her were better than against the others. However, she was now sporting more than a few scratches and ice burns from too many close calls, and worse, Mercury had been appealing for her to stop throughout the entire battle.

"It doesn't have to be this way! Why won't you hear us out?"

Myoshiya snarled again, dislocated her many arms, and slipped past the parked vans that blocked her escape route. "You think we would live with people like you? Don't you get it? Your false sympathy makes me sick. How could you people ever live with us? You would have us live as experiments and freaks for your amusement!"

Mercury leaped a car a little further down and forced Myoshiya to head back towards the pavement again. "We're trying to help you! I don't want to kill you!"

"We don't need your sympathy!!" Myoshiya screamed, incensed as she fled down the alleyway behind her. She needed something, an edge or even just a weapon. She had no special attacks or powers to help her. Then, as she ran, she saw the discarded kitchenware piled among the rubbish.

Mercury had only just reached the alley when she saw Myoshiya arm herself. "Wait, don't do this!"

The youma just grinned manically and broke into a run, headed straight for her enemy, knives of every sort clutched in her many fists. "You will -die-, Senshi!"

Mercury backed up a step before, with regret in her eyes, she raised her right hand. "Tearful Celebration..."

A single shard of ice materialised, hovering above her outstretched wrist. Then she closed her fingers, and the shard leapt towards Myoshiya at frightening speed.

And missed.

"Ha! That was your only chance!" Myoshiya said, seeing nothing but the blood that she would soon spill. The blood that she so despised.

Mercury however, just looked saddened as she flicked her wrist around, her palm open on front of her "...Blossom."

The shard exploded in mid flight, like the firework it was named after, and freezing shrapnel showered the alleyway. The razor sharp slivers of ice buried into Myoshiya's back and took her off her feet, her expression lost in surprise and despair as the knives fell from her limp fingers. "No..."

She collided with Sailor Mercury and the pair of them fell to the pavement, Mercury getting to her hands and knees to try and tend to her own victim. "It's okay," she soothed, even though she knew full well that she had created that attack to be her most powerful offensive option. "We will make sure you come through this, okay. We won't treat you the way you think we will."

Myoshiya just stared at her as defiantly as she could. "N-no," she managed to say, despite her pain. "I won't have it. I won't... I won't live with you people... Never..."

Myoshiya knew that the Senshi could probably make sure she survived even from those wounds, and she was sure that anything she did to Mercury now would be rendered useless after the battle was lost. So, before Mercury could stop, her she used the last of her energy to reach out for one of the knives she had dropped. In one quick motion she swung the weapon, not even caring that Mercury had scrambled easily out of range, and buried it in her own chest.

Mercury watched with horror, unable to do anything for the youma as she let out a last ragged breath. This creature had hated them enough to die rather than attempt coexist? It was a bitter pill to swallow, but Mercury could actually understand it to some degree. It was better that the youma had died now, if she had been so blinded by rage inside. At least she wouldn't have to suffer with that hatred any longer. There was no point dwelling on that sadness. Mercury had others who she could try to help, even if they were just her own friends.

Maxill however could only look on with tears in her yellow eyes. "M-Myoshiya... No, you didn't just do that. You didn't! She was trying to help you."

Sailor Moon watched thinking just the same thing. "I don't get it," she said to Maxill, her heart heavy. "We can live together. We've done it in the past. It's not that hard! If... If you want to, we can all work it out."

Maxill heard the words, but at the same time they only conjured up the memory of her blood-sister. Surely, for the life she sacrificed to bring them all there, she should want revenge more than anything. Yet was that revenge worth their lives? If Myoshiya was dead, then that was one more death too many. The humans could be decent people. Even the Senshi, she realised as she watched Mercury close Myoshiya's eyes, even they could be good people. "Captain, S-Sisters..."

But Tyranya still had once chance, as she fought with Neptune and Jupiter. One chance to salvage this battle. Kaizi had taken control of their weapon, and nothing the Senshi could do would stop it. It had been designed specifically to shrug of their magic. Surely this was enough to allow them victory, however bitter it may be.

Rei knew that as well. It was her who watched the spinning metal fortress through Sailor Mars' eyes. The power and courage of her transformation seemed to have left her, and Rei stood scared as she watched the shining fortress that she had seen in all those nightmares of hers. She had been running, but her fellow Senshi had turned back from their flight, to fight what would be an impossible enemy. She now knew what that fear in the dreams had been. They would fight, and they would lose. Everyone would lose, friend and foe alike.

She knew what had to happen next as well. She would force herself to stop running. Sailor Mars would fight, even though she didn't want to. Even though she knew what it would cost.

A fearful resolution fell over her. She had sacrificed everything for her friends before. Now she had to do so again, because that was what it would take to stop this 'fortress', and end the battle for good. Sailor Mars, trembling, raised her hand, and waited for that dreadful touch.

"Soul Conflagration Pact!"

The orange hand, tipped with nails of flame, alighted on her shoulder. "Thank you for calling, my little Rei," Desir said. "I knew that you would."

Sailor Mars, Hino Rei, stood there vacantly, her demonette wrapped around her as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen looked on. "No, Sailor Mars, don't!" "Sailor Mars!"

Jupiter looked away from her fight for a split second, and froze. "No, Rei..."

But the pact was made. Desir rose up behind her charge, and their powers merged in an almighty eruption of flame. The fires wreathed them both, playing across their skin, and Sailor Mars could not believe how good it felt to be free. Free of the fear and uncertainly. She controlled the fire now. She was the fire. Smouldering footprints softened the tarmac as she approached the spinning shell, and she raised her hands again.

"Sailor Venus, do not worry. Please stand clear."

Minako stared at Desir with spiteful eyes. "What have you done to her!?"

Rei simply smiled. "It doesn't matter," and with a motion she poured their combined flames onto the weapon. At first it seemed as ineffectual as every attack Sailor Venus had tried, but this was an attack that Sailor Mars had spent more than just her magic on.

Soon, as the flames kept coming, the metal dervish began to glow red, then orange, then yellow, and inside Kaizi found that the controls and walls had heated beyond the level she could touch. She reached up to the roof hatch, but even that was beginning to glow.

"Captain," she said sadly, her feet beginning to blister on the floor, "I am sorry."

Out in the street Maxill was frantic. "Please, stop it! Captain, tell her to surrender! This isn't worth our lives! There has to be another way! Please!"

Now, however, Tyranya didn't need the convincing. She had stopped her fight altogether, and now struggled as Sailor Neptune held her. "Stop this! You have proved that we cannot win! Let Kaizi free, at least!"

But Sailor Mars didn't stop. She couldn't. She didn't want to go. Not just yet. As soon as she let go of Desir, that would be it.

"Sailor Mars! Please, stop it! That's enough!"

Mars looked over with a teary eye as Jupiter made her plea.

"That's enough..."

Mars smiled. "I love you."

She pulled back the fire, and ended the spell. It was just a single attack, after all. All that was left was her part of the bargain.

Sailor Jupiter watched with relief as the fire fell away from the now stationary shell, and Sailor Venus waited with her Love-Me Chain, ready to take Kaizi into their custody as soon as she emerged. However, Jupiter's relief soon faded, as the fire did not abate completely. Desir and Sailor Mars still burned, and now the fire had begun to burn away the edges of Mars' sailor fuku.

"M-Mars?"

Sailor Mars just continued to smile sadly as she burned, even though she didn't feel any pain, and Desir shared her host's expression. "I'm sorry," said the demonette. "It's kind of complicated."

Jupiter couldn't believe it. "No! I won't let you have her again!" Before any of the others could stop her she broke into a run, straight into the flames.

She screamed as the fire scorched her skin, but she wrapped her arms around Sailor Mars as tightly as she could. Mars had started screaming, struggling against her, but Jupiter was undeterred. "Stop it, I'm not leaving you! Not like this! Not ever!"

-

In the blink of an eye, the flames ceased to burn her, and Makoto looked up to see the world frozen. Only Sailor Mars and Desir still moved. As did Pluto.

"What..?" Jupiter asked, suddenly confused. She looked at her skin. There wasn't even a single singe.

Mars didn't reply. She hadn't wanted any of them to hear what she had decided. Desir, however, seemed pleased. "I was hoping you would say that, little Mako."

Jupiter glared at her. "What have you done Desir? How can you see who I am? And why can Pluto still move too?"

Sailor Pluto gave her a smile. "I am somewhat involved, I am afraid." She turned to Desir. "I apologise for waiting until now, but Makoto-chan's involvement was all but guaranteed. Now, let us work this out between us, so that no-one has to have their lives taken for good. Are you happy with that Rei-chan?"

Sailor Mars felt herself tearing up. "T-thank you. I didn't think..."

Desir patted her on the head. "I didn't know this was possible either, little Rei. I am playing by ear, but this is all so wonderfully symmetrical! Now, to business..."

-

Sailor Moon felt the tears coursing down her face as Jupiter was consumed by the flames. "Jupiter! Mars!"

Then, quite literally in the blink of an eye, the fires subsided and Desir could just be seen burning off into the air, disappearing back to wherever she had come from.

The other Senshi gathered around as quickly as they could, only to find both Mars and Jupiter safe and sound, holding each other with tears in their eyes.

Tyranya, her arms held behind her back by a very confused Sailor Neptune, just stared at them all. "What... what happened?" She looked back over her shoulder. "What are you people?"

Neptune would have liked to know that herself. Pluto on the other hand just smiled. "We are human, just a little more complicated than is usual. Saturn, you can release her now. We are finished."

Sailor Saturn nodded and lowered her Silence Wall, leaving Aretsuki free to run to Tyranya. "Big Sister!"

Tyranya looked over to Shivis, who still lay unconscious as Sailor Mercury started to tend to her, and Venus was happily tying up Kaizi now that she had appeared from the still red-hot machine. "What will you do with us now?" she asked.

Sailor Moon sat smiling happily with tear-stained cheeks as Sailor Saturn ministered to her, the dour young warrior slowly using her powers to heal her princess' deep burns. "There are some people I would like to introduce to you," Sailor Moon said. "They were called the Four Phantom Sisters. They weren't like us either, and we fought, but they discovered that they could love being human. Even if you don't want that, they'll still understand how you feel. And we'll try to help too."

Tyranya looked down at the young youma who hugged her, then up to Maxill, who stood looking thankful that her Captain had surrendered. "That is... kind of you. Thank you. For sparing our lives. We would not have done the same."

"No," Sailor Moon said. "I think you would. You care about each other too much to be so cold."

"Do you really give us so much credit?" Tyranya asked sadly.

Sailor Moon nodded. "You are willing to try, aren't you?"

---

"What!? If they're all fighting the youma what are you doing here?!"

Artemis tried to get to his feet, but his astonishment was soon replaced with the sharp pain that ran down his cast-covered leg. He let himself lie back down on the blanket that lined his box and settled for staring at his visitor.

Luna on the other hand just watched him with a mild sense of surprise at his reaction. She had only mentioned it offhandedly, and Artemis was not usually one to get so excited unless Luna made the seriousness of the situation absolutely clear. "Artemis, you'll hurt yourself. Don't worry about them, they will manage quite well without needing me to shout encouragement. We haven't exactly been needed in their last few battles, have we?"

Artemis looked non-plussed. "And see how well that worked against their last enemy. We lost half our soldiers."

Luna had to accept that. "True. But we did get them back. The point is that they don't need watching, and even if they did the youma have been so public that the entire battle is being shown on the national news! If it isn't over already."

Artemis settled himself properly, resting on his good side and leaving his broken paw out in front of himself. "No wonder the Ainos haven't come to pick me up yet. They'll be glued to the T.V."

Luna nodded. "Probably. That is why I thought you needed the company."

Artemis sighed, a wry smile appearing on his feline lips. "You're being awfully nice, too. I would almost think you didn't have a lecture ready for me about this."

"Oh, I do," Luna replied, a similar smile appearing on her own face, but softer and more genuine. "It -is- your own fault, and it -was- stupid of you. But it was rather brave too, and you did it for Minako-chan's sake. I'm glad you didn't get yourself killed. If only for Diana's sake."

Artemis looked at her, blushing slightly. Like Usagi and Mamoru, knowing for a fact that he and Luna would have a daughter at some point in the future had changed their relationship somewhat. Luna didn't talk about Diana often, the idea of their future relationship seemed to unnerve her, but on these few occasions it was plain that Luna did care about them both, even if she wanted to pretend not to.

"Thanks Luna."

---

Just like the rest of Japan, Katsura hadn't been able to take her eyes off the television screen. Few people had ever seen a full on Sailor Senshi battle, let alone one on this scale. Even from the unsteady helicopter camera it had been both terrifying and riveting.

Katsura had been shocked to see Haruka get involved. Surely that meant that the other girls wouldn't be Sailor Senshi either. That was the excuse that instantly sprang to mind. But then, she rationalised, Ami would never have let a pregnant woman fight, so...

As Sailor Moon talked to the subdued youma and the police, ambulances and media finally started to appear properly, Katsura knew that she would need to get ready to work. After that the hospitals would be inundated with patients, even if it was just to make sure that there had been no ill effects from the transformations they had undergone.

Yet she couldn't help but stare at the heroines on the screen. How could Ami possibly be one of them? What hurt Katsura the most was that, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't recognise her daughter. Even with their bold costumes and distinctive hair styles she couldn't match even one name to any of their faces. 'Which one are you, Ami? Why can't I see you!!'

And then an idea came to her. She could find out. If one of them was really her daughter she would surely respond, and from the distance the helicopter was at no-one but her would know. She could feel the sweat on her palms, and her eyes were watering at the frustration. It was too tempting not to try, no matter how ridiculous it seemed; like checking under the bed for monsters before putting the lights out.

Katsura reached her hand into her bag, started tapping buttons on her phone, and then sent the message. Surely, even in that guise, Ami would still have her pager on her. She never went anywhere without it.

But, of course, wasn't that futile? Where would any of the Sailor Senshi have kept a pager in those outfits?

Then, in the bottom corner of the picture, to Katsura's disbelieving eyes, Sailor Mercury turned away from the youma she knelt over and looked away at something in her hand. Where did any of the Senshi keep their pens when they weren't in hand? Or Mercury's computer for that matter?

After that, it all seemed to click into place. Ami was Sailor Mercury. Sailor Mercury was Ami: the same, and yet completely separate. Usagi, with that exuberant hair and kind, earnest eyes, could only be Sailor Moon. Minako was Venus, Makoto was Jupiter, Michiru was Neptune, little Hotaru was Saturn...

Haruka -was- Uranus, even if she could not fight as such.

And Setsuna. She had been fooling the parents club all along. Sailor Pluto had been there with them all, making sure no-one suspected enough to be able to break through the magic of their children's transformations. She had been allaying fears, and drawing them all closer to each other, and yet still keeping the Sailor Senshi safe from being identified.

It was so much, so fast, that it made her head hurt.

"K-Katsura-sensei! It's okay, sit down, I'll find someone to help you."

Katsura looked up at the orderly with confused eyes a she was eased into the chair behind her. "W-what?"

The young man laid a hand on her shoulder and tried to look reassuring. "You're bleeding, Katsura-sensei. Just sit still, I'll be back in a second."

Now that he had said it, Katsura could feel the trickle down her earlobe, and put her hand to that ear. It came away smeared with crimson. 'Oh...' she thought, strangely unconcerned. 'I must have burst something when I saw through the magic. I had better send Ami another message. I hope I didn't make her too worried.'

---

As it turned out Ami hadn't been worried so much as surprised. Once they had all made their escape from the media circus that the scene had become, she had needed to double check her messages.

'Are you watching the T.V.?' it had said, 'I will have to work late again. I love you.'

And then, only a minute or so later, 'I'm sorry Ami. I must be feeling over-emotional. I will see you tomorrow, I hope. Please treat yourself.'

Ami hadn't really known what to make of it. It wasn't like her mother to worry like that. Working late had never been much of an issue before, and she had -never- received an apology for being motherly!

Ami smiled as she reached their condo apartment, hoping the hospital wouldn't need her mother to do too much overtime. Then, when she put her key in the lock, her eyes widened in worry. Someone was already inside.

Very slowly she inched open the door, swallowing hard, and crept inside. It didn't sound like anyone was robbing them, but it could have happened already. She left the door ajar and pulled out her mobile phone, dialling for the police and ready to both start the call and dash for the door at the first hint of an intruder.

What she found instead was Katsura sitting at the kitchen table, a bandage over her left ear. "M-Mother! What happened?" she asked, dropping her bags and rushing over. "Why aren't you at the hospital?"

Katsura just smiled up at her attentive daughter. "It's okay Ami. This is nothing, my colleagues saw to it at work before they sent me home."

"Sent you home?" Ami echoed in concern. "What happened?"

"Just a little concussion dear," Katsura replied, staring into Ami's eyes. It was strange, having such a simple conversation now that she knew who she was talking to. "I am fit to work, but you know how they can be there. They threatened to take me home in an ambulance if I didn't agree to leave them to their work."

Ami sighed, shaking her head. "Mother, you should know better than that! How did you do it?" Ami didn't even notice her mother's stare. She was too busy performing her own quick diagnosis, and her mother let her.

"They don't know," Katsura replied, "I don't have a mark on me. It was quite amusing."

"Mother! Be serious! People do not suffer concussions spontaneously. They should have kept you there and done a full check up!"

Katsura's smile grew. "No, I know what it was, Ami. There are some things that science cannot explain just yet. Things like magic."

Ami just stared at her. "Magic?"

Katsura nodded. "It happened just around the time that Sailor Mercury checked her pager on national television."

Ami blanched. The implication was clear as crystal to her. It was supposed to be impossible for anyone, any human at least, to discover their identities. "M-Mother..."

"I didn't expect that fighting off your magic would have such a physical effect," Katsura said, taking her daughter's trembling hand. "Some of your friends' parents have had suspicions for a while, though I doubt if they have gone as far as I have."

Ami barely even heard it though. "I-I'm sorry, Mother. I didn't mean to lie. It's just..."

Katsura sighed and got to her feet, lifting her daughter's head. "I know why you didn't. I am sorry for doing something I shouldn't have. I knew that magic was there for a reason. It is just that, for that split second, I had to know. And I am proud of you Ami. You've been a hero time and time again, for six years, and no-one has ever thanked you for it."

Ami shook her head. "We've been thanked. Even the government..."

"I mean no-one has ever thanked -you-," Katsura interrupted. "You have just gone on being Mizuno Ami after fighting so hard. I remember that the Sailor Senshi almost died... and you must have still been in high school. I'm... more proud of you than I can say, Ami."

Ami had never been happier to hear her mother say anything. "Thank you. Thank you so much Mother!" But, of course, she had to let the reality of the situation reassert itself. "Mother, I'm glad you feel that way, but could you please keep this to yourself? If an enemy found out that you knew, or if it was made public..."

Katsura could only agree. "Of course. I know that I am a risk to you now."

"No, you're not!"

Katsura shushed her. "I know I am, and I will do what is necessary. Outside the two of us, and perhaps your friends, I do not know anything. As long as you know that I am proud of you, and that I expect you to come home safely."

Ami nodded. "I will. Do Usagi-chan's parents know? Or Minako-chan's?"

Katsura shook her head. "The Tsukinos, as nice as they are, do not want to believe. They seem happy to let the magic allow them that peace of mind. Hino-san suspects, and seems to know more than he lets on, but that is probably because he and Setsuna-san appear to have an understanding. Maybe he knows to suspect Setsuna-san of being one of you all."

"Setsuna-san?" Ami asked.

Katsura nodded. "It seems that your magic is a singular possession between you all. Once I could see past it, I could recognise you all, even from memory. I know about Sailor Pluto."

Ami was a little worried by that. "She does mean well."

"No doubt," Katsura agreed. "I may not like her methods, but she seems to have good intentions, and she is good company. No doubt she will want to talk with me if she finds out what I have done."

Ami thought that turnabout was fair play in this instance though. "She doesn't have to be told. We can let her discover it on her own." Ami smiled. "She finds out everything else well enough!"

Katsura allowed herself a chuckle at Setsuna's expense. "I see. Makoto-chan does not have a guardian, the dear girl, so she does not have anything worry about in this regard. As for the Ainos, I suspect that..."

---

Minako hugged Artemis tightly, at least until the poor cat mewled in discomfort. "Ah, I'm sorry Artemis, but I'm so glad you're okay!"

She turn on her parents, who watched the display with a strange concern. "How could you leave him at the vet all this time?!" Minako chastised them, clutching her feline friend to her chest. "I bet he was so lonely waiting for you to pick him up."

Kikon didn't trust herself to speak, and looked to her husband.

"I'm sorry Minako," he said. "We were... caught up in the news on television."

"Oh, you mean the Sailor Senshi?!" Minako beamed, acting as eager as a puppy, "You saw them too? Weren't they so cool?"

Yokozuki swallowed hard. "Yes. They were."

Minako dropped her act. "Daddy? Are you okay? You hate the Sailor Senshi."

"No Minako, your father doesn't think anything of the sort," Kikon explained for him. "They just do dangerous things, and people get hurt. We don't want... we don't want you hurt Minako, so please don't do anything reckless, okay?"

Minako blinked. It was nice to hear them seriously worried for her for once, without telling her off. If only they knew.

"Don't worry Mum, Daddy," she said with a smile, taking Artemis up to her room. "I'll be okay. I'll leave that kind of thing for the Senshi."

Yokozuki swallowed hard again, and his wife squeezed at his hand, looking for the support she needed to stay quiet. "That's good." Yokozuki said. "I'm proud of you Minako."

Minako almost tripped up the stairs, her eyebrows twisting in confusion. "Daddy? Are you really sure you're feeling alright?"

"Of course I'm sure," he barked. "Can't I be proud of you just once in your life? Go on and look after your cat already."

"Yes sir!" Minako said, bouncing up to her room with a huge grin on her face.

When they heard her door shut Kikon let out a sigh and looked up to her resolute husband. "Dear, are you sure? Is this really alright?"

Yokozuki nodded. "We might still be wrong, Kikon-chan, but it mustn't matter either way. We are not supposed to believe. We have to keep their secret, because if even one of those girls is a Sailor Senshi, then we can't risk putting them, or ourselves, in danger. Leave the Tsukinos and Hino-san and everyone to their ignorance. We can keep on fooling ourselves in their eyes, as long as we are cheering our girl on from the shadows, whichever one of them she might be."

Kikon nodded. It would be a bitter pill to swallow, but if Minako was pretending not to be one of the Senshi, then Kikon would let her pretend. "I'm sorry I misjudged you, dear. I'm glad you told her how proud you are of her. You should say it more often."

Yokozuki nodded, and Kikon stood up on her toes to kiss him. "If only she knew the real reason."

---

"So," Grandpa Hino asked, as he sat with his single visitor, a cup of tea slowly cooling in front of his cushion, "that explains it. At least she will have Mako-chan and yourself with her."

He looked up from the limpid beverage, and for once he actually looked as old as he truly was. "Will I live to see it happen?"

Setsuna shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Hino-san."

Grandpa Hino let out a sigh of relief. "Good. I hope you will take good care of her for me, Setsuna-dono."

Setsuna smiled a little at the respectful suffix, while the priest himself seemed to regain some of his bounce. "So," he said, "how long have I got, Pluto-chan?"

Setsuna chuckled at his show of cheek. "Long enough, Hino-san. The future is always flexible, but we all have time before then, yourself included. And don't call me that. It is... inappropriate. How you saw through us all I will never know."

Grandpa Hino chuckled. "Well, after six years suspicions have a tendency to add up. Especially after the whole 'Jiji' incident," he said, remembering all his confusion after he himself had been attacked by the Dark Kingdom those six years before. "Yoko-kun's theories were just the push I needed. Though I could have lived quite happily without the ambulance trip that followed, I can tell you. That was an experience, to have my own guests having to look after me. They thought I was having an aneurism!"

Setsuna shrugged. "I have been told it is somewhat dangerous to force your body to accept magic that it was not meant to deal with. You are lucky you got off so lightly, old man. But this must have happened before I joined your 'club'. You really are quite the showman."

Grandpa Hino bowed his head in apology. "Can you blame me, Setsuna-dono?"

Setsuna didn't answer that. It was certainly not an acceptable turn of events, but the old priest had done a great deal for them over the years, it seemed. More so than even she had ever suspected. "So, now that you have admitted your knowledge, will you tell Rei?"

"I am not sure," Grandpa Hino admitted. "It is more your decision than mine. I would rather like to live out my remaining years with all my limbs, if you know what I mean."

Setsuna thought on that for a second. "Remember our understanding, Hino-san. What you tell your granddaughter is your family business, but beyond that this must remain a pleasant fiction. Anything more could be... somewhat dangerous."

Grandpa Hino nodded. "Well, I have answered your questions, and you have answered mine, and we have both had our share of surprises from it all. I can be happy with that, so I would have thought that nothing more need be said. Right Setsuna-san?"

Setsuna nodded, and humoured him with another smile. "Yes. Thank you for the tea, old friend. I look forward to our next meeting."

The priest got to his feet and beamed as he walked her to the door. "A beautiful lady will never be turned away!"

They both stopped there to see Rei appear at the top of the shrine steps, and catch sight of them. "Setsuna-san! What are you doing here?" she asked as she jogged up, her re-packed over-night bag slung over her shoulder. "Grandpa isn't trying to flirt with you is he?"

Her grandfather just put his nose in the air. "Hmmph, I can have my friends over too you know. Especially cute friends like Setsuna-chan!"

"Grandpa!"

Setsuna just shook her head, and waved as she left. He really was a charming old man, she thought. Even if he was too perceptive for his own good.

Grandpa Hino returned the wave before turning to his annoyed granddaughter. "Honestly Rei, after what they showed on T.V. is it any wonder people want a little company now? It was a scary looking battle."

"Yeah," Rei agreed, as if she had watched it herself instead of living it. "Yeah, it was scary."

"The Sailor Senshi are very brave," he continued, "especially that Sailor Mars. I was worried that she wouldn't make it at the end there. It's a good thing she and Sailor Jupiter seem so close. Say," he added suddenly, with a twinkle in his eye, "have you invited Mako-chan over again tonight? It would be much less lonely with her here."

Rei blinked, feeling embarrassed at the apparently indirect praise. "Umm, I already have. I mean, if you don't mind."

Her grandfather nodded, satisfied by the answer. "Good, good. I'm sure she doesn't want to be alone in that apartment of hers tonight either. It does an old man good to see you girls happy, especially after something like today."

Rei could have sworn he was insinuating something that he couldn't possibly have been insinuating, but she just smiled back, happy that he was so supportive. "Yeah. We're... we're happy Gramps. Thanks for understanding."

Grandpa Hino just nodded, and left it at that. If Rei was happy, what more would he ever have to say?

---

Meanwhile Makoto was also continuing with what would have been her plan for the day, unaware that certain pretences no longer needed to be kept up. In all honesty she would have liked the rest of the day off from everything, but she didn't need yet another excuse to put off what she needed to do. It had been long enough as it was. She just had to swallow her pride and ask, or Rei would never let her hear the end of it.

"Mizuno-sensei," she said standing in Katsura and Ami's living room, bowing as deeply as she could, "I know you have already done a lot for me, but I have a favour to ask..."

And she explained, at length and with great self-deprecation, about how she would have to re-take her current year at college despite Ami's diligent help, and how she would not be able to pay for another year, thanks to her own lack of foresight with her money. Ami found herself blushing for her friend as Makoto slowly became more and more embarrassed, and not least because she was trying to paint herself in the most unfavourable light she could so that none of the others could be blamed for influencing the situation.

Katsura would have found it amusing in a motherly sort of way, had she not known who it was who was putting herself down in order not to tarnish Ami's reputation as student tutor extraordinaire. "Makoto-chan... Makoto-chan!"

"Yes maam?" Makoto said, suddenly looking up, a little bit worried. Had she gone too far?

Katsura sighed, and looked up at the still bowing girl from her seat on the couch. "Makoto-chan, I don't believe that what I am hearing was entirely within your control. I am sure that your parents would be proud that you made it to college, and I think you have done more than enough to deserve a second chance." She smiled as Makoto stared at her. "You can straighten up now, Makoto-chan."

Makoto did so, slightly dazed at how easily Ami's mother had agreed. "T-thank you Mizuno-sensei. I... I promise to pay you back!"

Katsura nodded and got to her feet. "As you wish. Now, I'm sure you two would like a cup of tea. Or coffee?"

"Yes please mother," Ami said, both glad that her mother had spared Makoto any further embarrassment and curious that she hadn't told Makoto about what she knew. Still, she supposed, it would be an easier secret to keep this way, even if she trusted Makoto implicitly.

"Makoto-chan?" Katsura asked, extending the offer to their guest.

Makoto blinked. "Umm, coffee would be nice. Thank you."

Katsura nodded in satisfaction. "Good. I will leave you two to talk, assuming you can stay for a little while. I have not had very much chance to show you any hospitality recently, Makoto-chan."

Ami giggled at Makoto's confusion as Katsura left for the kitchen, while Makoto visibly relaxed. "Ami-chan, have I missed something?"

Ami shook her head as Makoto took the now vacant seat on the settee. "Really, you did lay it on a bit thickly Mako-chan. I told you that Mother thinks quite highly of you, and that she would be happy to help you."

Makoto shrugged awkwardly. "I guess I'm lucky then."

"No," Ami corrected, "just loved. Sometimes being someone's best friend comes with a few extra perks."

Makoto smiled at that. "Best friend, huh? I haven't been too attentive recently," she joked, despite the truth that she felt in that statement

That time it was Ami's turn to feel awkward. "Neither have I. But you are still the best friend I have."

Makoto nodded. "Same here."

"So..." Ami said after a moment's uncomfortable silence. "How is Rei-chan? You both scared me back then."

"She's fine," Makoto replied, trying not to make too much out of it. "It could have been bad, I guess, but we worked it all out."

"It could have been bad?"

Makoto nodded. "She was trying to be noble. And she gets so upset when Usagi-chan tries that too."

Ami sighed, interpreting that correctly. Sailor Mars had been ready to sacrifice her life for that one attack. "I'm glad you stopped her." Then she remembered that it had been Desir fuelling Mars' extra power. "It hasn't cost you too badly, has it?"

"You don't need to worry about us," Makoto replied, choosing her words carefully. Ami was perceptive, but she didn't want her to be concerned. "We still need to get our heads around it, but we'll be okay. I'll tell you before anything happens, I promise."

That sober thought brought Ami to the right conclusion. "We'll still worry you know."

Makoto smiled at her, trying to lighten the mood. "Hey, we've got a lot of free credit this time around. Desir won't collect for a long time."

Ami decided to let that reassurance work. "As long as you will both be alright."

"We will." Makoto decided this was as good a time as any to change the subject. Especially since she still had so little idea of the situation herself.

"You know," she said, sitting back lazily, "I wanted to tell you, but I didn't get the chance. That was really brave of you, when you gave Haruka-san that brooch. It was just amazing."

Ami blushed. "Well, I wanted to give her something, if Usagi-chan won't let me give anything at the baby shower. I guess I was a little extravagant, but it made a good thank you."

"A thank you?" Makoto asked.

"Mako-chan, I've been given more leeway than I have deserved," Ami explained. "They have gone out of their way to humour me, when they have every reason not to. Haruka... Haruka-san even told me that I mean something special to her. It is more than I could have asked for. I wanted to say thank you to her, before I have to face up to reality."

Makoto stared at her for a moment, turning those words over in her mind. "Ami-chan, don't you think that maybe they have been trying to accept you for a reason? Michiru-san had as good a time at the party as you did. Think about it. It could have been a disaster, but you and Haruka-san and Michiru-san all got on wonderfully."

"Mako-chan, do you really think it will be that easy for them, or for me?" Ami asked, a little wistfully.

"No," Makoto replied, "I bet it'll be tough, but you've all been making the effort, and you've all done better than I thought anyone could. You're all friends, and you can both still be in love too. Isn't that an effort to cherish?"

That speech drew out the longing in Ami's heart. "Yes. I hope that the second shoe never has to drop. But even if it doesn't, how could that work? I don't know if -I- could deal with the kind of relationship that would become, let alone what Michiru-san would think."

However, Makoto's eyes seemed to hold enough hope for her. "I don't think -anyone- would know how to deal with it. But as long as you don't give up, you'll work out what's best for you all."

Ami had to smile as that hope seemed to invigorate her. "Thanks Mako-chan. Maybe you're right."

---

That evening, with their upstairs neighbours partying audibly like so many others in the wake of another victorious Sailor Senshi battle, two of the true heroes sat at their small dining table, sharing a large delivered sushi plate between them.

"Are you sure you don't want to go out tonight Usako?" Mamoru asked. "I think you deserve it."

Usagi shook her head, wearing the same smile that she had done for the past six hours. "In which case so do you. And nope, I just want expensive sushi with my Mamo-chan." She popped another salmon roll into her mouth, and chewed luxuriously. "It doesn't seem right to party though. And besides, I'm still tired. All that 'Moon Kiss' stuff is really exhausting, you know."

Mamoru nodded, conceding the point. "I suppose getting shot wasn't the best thing that could have happened to you either. You were very brave there; I could have fallen for you all over again with that willpower you showed."

Usagi giggled. "Hee hee, and my knight came rushing to my side. You were so dashing. It would have been nice if it hadn't hurt so much!"

They both shared a laugh over that.

Usagi eventually sighed, and rested her head in her hands, her elbows propped up on the table. "We did good today."

"That you did," her finace agreed. "And it doesn't look like we'll get a witch hunt for the youma after all. Everyone is too busy thanking the Sailor Senshi to notice the bad guys have been spirited away. By the time the thought occurs to them the youma will be so well hidden they'll never find them."

Usagi nodded, picking out another of the choicest sushi. "Koan-san looked delighted to have more potential help, and a real makeover challenge. I swear, I was never as addicted to makeup as those sisters are. Well, almost, but not quite."

"What do you think they'll do now?" Mamoru asked, subtly taking the cucumber rolls that Usagi was working her way around.

Usagi shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe they'll help Koan-san and her sisters with their cosmetics store. The big youma - was it Kaizi? - I bet she'll want to go back to that fitness company, even if she can't use the same disguise. I'm sure it will work out. As long as they don't try draining peoples' energy again, I'm sure they'll never be noticed, and they can live happily."

"They will have to eat, you know," Mamoru put in, but Usagi didn't seem worried.

"They don't need much though, do they," she said, giving them the benefit of the doubt. "All the energy they harvested before, most of that went into their machine. If they only take what they need... And Koan-san and her sisters seemed willing to donate a little. Maybe if the scientist one can really set it up under the cover of a medical check-up or something... or like a blood drive..."

Mamoru was glad to hear his fiancee's thoughts. "As long as you are okay with that. I don't think we can expect them to give up their necessities just in order to fit in."

That was Usagi's opinion as well. "We can trust them, I think. And anyway, I'm sure that Sailor Pluto will be keeping a very good eye on them. She still checks up on the cosmetics shop, though I don't think they know that."

"It all turned out for the best then, almost," Mamoru said. "Did Rei-chan ever tell you what happened to her? I am assuming that the demon showing up again was not a harbinger of good news."

Usagi shook her head. "No. Well, she didn't say anything apart from that it wouldn't happen again. And she seemed okay with that."

"Did you believe her?"

Usagi grinned. "Nope, but as long as she's okay, I'll trust her. Rei-chan wouldn't lie about it if it was important. Open wide."

She held up another piece of sushi between finger and thumb, and fed it to her obliging fiance, who closed his mouth around the savoury treat and the fingers that had held it.

"Oi, Mamo-chan!" Usagi giggled. "I need those!"

Mamoru smiled around his food and released the captive digits, before he returned the favour and held up his own next roll, which met similar results. Usagi grinned, nibbling on both the rice and Mamoru's fingers before letting them free. "There, now we're even."

Mamoru cocked an eyebrow, and looked down to see the last piece on the plate. He glanced up to see Usagi noticing the exact same thing. They shared the same ready smile.

The challenge was on. To the winner would go the spoils, and to the loser, the pleasure of being made up to!

---

The sunlight was warm on Rei's back next morning. She lay on her bed, the covers crumpled up against the wall, and watched as Makoto dressed for the day. She glanced at her clock, and yawned loudly, as if to make a point. "Makotooo, it's too early. Why are you up already?"

Makoto looked over her shoulder once she had pulled her head out of her top. "Oh, sorry, did I wake you?"

Rei shook her head, and managed to remain thoroughly unconvincing. "Nope," she replied, letting her head flop back onto the pillow, which made her rather dramatic bed-hair even more comical; like an unshorn dust bunny, as drawn by Usagi. She didn't bother to pull the covers back over herself though. The sunlight on her back was too nice for that. "You're not going to run around the shrine at this hour are you?"

Makoto smirked at the idea. "Why not? Your grandpa is up already."

Rei closed her eyes and smiled. "That's the reason why not! I don't want that old pervert thinking weird thoughts about my girlfriend's athletic assets."

Makoto covered her chest with her arms and gave Rei a pointed look as the girl giggled. "Hey."

Rei just rolled onto her side and stretched out her arms. "Come here."

Makoto did as she was told, and was promptly pulled to sit by her supine girlfriend. "Better," Rei muttered, wrapping her arms around Makoto's waist and snuggling down into her pillow.

"Hey," Makoto exclaimed, "don't just go back to sleep!"

Rei smirked and opened her eyes again. "Spoilsport. Come on Mako, what's up?" She dropped the humour in her voice and sat up, her arms still encircling Makoto's waist from behind. "Are you worried about Desir? I am sorry I didn't tell you. I just..."

"You wanted to play hero," Makoto interrupted, "and I would have lost you. But no, that's not the reason, so don't look like that."

Makoto pulled Rei around to face her. "But if you're okay to talk about it, are you sure you're fine with this?"

Rei looked at her. "I thought you would have wanted to go back to Seiji. I know you liked it there."

Makoto was happy to admit that, but it wasn't the point she was making. "No, I don't mind, but what about you. I don't want you to go through all that again. If Pluto and me hadn't stopped it, you would have gone back for good!"

Rei looked ashamed of that. "I told you, I'm sorry. I thought it was worth it. That was how it had to work. Desir would lend me her power so no-one else had to get hurt - so we could win - and in return I would go back and be her Seraphi."

The mention of that name filled the air with a contemplative silence. "I guess it's like she said though," Makoto observed after a moment. "It's all very... symmetrical. I always thought it was weird when Desir said it took her years to get back here with Ami-chan and Haruka-san's baby. Now she's found her own loophole back to Seiji, and it's so far back in the 'past'. And you, me and Setsuna-san..."

Rei nodded. "We are the real Seraphi after all. We were impersonating ourselves all that time, and we didn't even know it."

Makoto thought that it felt too big to be real. "We're supposed to introduce magic to them all? What about Ami-chan's magic, and Minako-chan's and Haruka-san's? How are we supposed to be leaders when they taught us everything we learned. We were only novices, even when we left."

Rei agreed, "But we will know more than they do. We will look really powerful to the people in Seiji's history. I guess we just teach them the basics, and they work it out from there. They'll never know any better."

Makoto nodded. "I guess so. Ami-chan has figured it out though, I think. How am I supposed to tell her we'll be okay if Desir is just going to pop up one day and take you, Setsuna-san and me back to Seiji? We're not going to get any warning, she just said she'd come when she had worked out how to do it with all three of us."

"We'll just tell them the truth," Rei replied, voicing the only idea that had come to her. "We can give it a few years, until Setsuna-san can check up as much as possible, and just say that we'll be gone for a bit. We know that we'll be back, after all. If we are the Seraphi, we know we'll leave Seiji just as mysteriously as we arrive, and it'll only be a few years."

Makoto looked at Rei seriously. "And are you okay with few years? That's such a long time."

Rei didn't know. "I'll have you there. And maybe we'll work out something so Desir doesn't drive me nuts. Sorcery wasn't... isn't supposed to be an evil power when the Seraphi... eh, when -we- first introduce it."

Makoto was satisfied with that. She had helped Rei through that ordeal once. She would do the same again without a second thought. "Well, at least we've read our own history, so we know we probably come out of it okay. I guess, for the Magicians' and Warlocks' magic, we manage to work out something between now and then. I mean, it's already happened, sort of."

Rei smiled at the thought. "I bet Setsuna would have something to say about that. You know how she used to be about paradoxes."

Then a thought struck her. "Makoto... In the books in Seiji it said that we are each supposed to teach them a different kind of magic; one for the Warlocks, one for the leaders and one for the nobles, which the nomads stole. The Warlocks got the 'Art', and I guess Setsuna-san figures that out somehow."

"And," Makoto added, the idea clicking together in her mind, "I bet you anything that's why the Warlocks only wielded staffs. Setsuna-san -teaches- them to fight like that, because that's how she fights as Sailor Pluto!"

Rei nodded. "I teach the leaders Sorcery, so they have powerful advisors - demons and demonettes - who can also help them lead battles. You teach the nobles how to look after the land they own."

Makoto sighed then. "It's kind of depressing. I mean, we already know that all of that stuff doesn't come to anything. Sorcerers and Warlocks either go mad with power or become hermits, and the nobles barely even bother with their magic before it gets stolen from them."

"Well, it was supposed to have worked for a while," Rei said, "But that's not the point! The common magic is something we all teach to everyone else, and that eventually got evolved into stage magic and telekinesis and so on, but what about the Seers?"

Makoto thought about that. "I don't know. You were the one who did most of the reading Rei, you just told us that they were descend... You're kidding!"

Rei nodded, her eyes wide, barely able to believe it herself. "We don't teach them the 'Sight'. The Seers, like that slave girl, could make prophesies about the future because they were the direct -descendants- of the Seraphi. Setsuna-san is Sailor Pluto..."

"... guardian of the gates of time," Makoto finished.

They both swallowed in unison. "Setsuna-san finds a husband there!!"

Makoto stared at her girlfriend for a moment, before suddenly breaking into a huge smile. "How many kids do you think they'll have? I mean, that bloodline lasts a long time!"

"More to the point," Rei said, "do you think we should tell her? I mean, what if she doesn't like the idea of hooking up for a short lived relationship in some ancient parallel world?"

"She will know what she is doing," Makoto said. "It wouldn't be any fun if we spoilt the surprise now, would it?" She turned around until she stood up over Rei and leaned down to kiss her. "I wouldn't have wanted anyone to spoil it for me."

Rei closed her eyes as Makoto kissed her again, playfully laying her back down on the bed. "Makoto..."

Makoto smiled down at her still dishevelled girlfriend, but she stopped, one hand either side of Rei's pillow. "Sorry. You just looked so cute. Do you want me to stop?"

Rei blushed, and wriggled her way back up so she could sit close Makoto's head height as she leant on the bed. "We shouldn't," she said, but at the same time she smiled and locked her hands behind Makoto's head, and Makoto sat back down on the mattress.

"But I won't mind any more," Rei added. After Sailor Jupiter had run into those flames, for no other reason than to hold onto her, Rei's insecurities had once again been re-aligned. For all Makoto had known, she might have been running to her death. It had been a remarkable gesture of self-sacrifice.

On her part Makoto nodded, smiling. It would be nice to finally give to Rei what Rei had been giving to her. Makoto had been longing to since they had first come back to Tokyo. With a cheeky grin she pulled Rei back down the bed, making the girl shriek.

"Mako, no!" Rei objected, trying not to let a smile break her mask of embarrassed indignation as she pulled her top back down from where it had rucked up beneath her unbound breasts. "We've only just got up! And Grandpa is around somewhere!"

Makoto just grinned, and kissed her frowning girlfriend on the nose. "I never did keep that promise of a proper date, did I? Do you have to work today?"

Rei looked up at her, still trying to fix her pyjama top, and her indignant mask slipped. "Maybe I don't care." Then Makoto raised an eyebrow, a twinkle in her eye, and Rei decided this was a battle that she would rather lose. "... It's not like Grandpa actually needs the stairs swept today. I'll make him give me the day off!"

---

At the same time, a few miles away from the shrine, Meioh Setsuna poked her head into a darkened bedroom. It was still early, so she managed to slip into the room and close the door behind her without rousing her prey. While the room was dark, she could still see the outlines of that sleeping pair, wrapped haphazardly in their bed sheets as their arms and legs crossed each other.

Setsuna smiled, and crept forward. Sailor Pluto's garnet rod was carried carefully in her hand, but she was not a Sailor Senshi just at that moment. This was something she needed to do as a woman, not as a soldier.

Being careful not to disturb them she pulled away the covers from Haruka and Michiru's bed. The two of them looked very peaceful, half wrapped around each other as Haruka snored quietly and Michiru murmured faintly into her pillow. In typical fashion Haruka was under clad once again, but Setsuna had come to expect that of her. At least she was wearing some nice feminine panties, and not those awful boxer shorts. It always riled Setsuna that Haruka would not model the dresses she designed, but she was too mature to admit it.

Instead, ignoring the temptation to find Haruka's stash of boxers and surreptitiously dispose of them, she knelt down next to the bed and brought Pluto's staff across. She would have to be quick, before one of the sleeping pair stirred from the feel of the air against their skin, but she took a moment to smile as she looked at Haruka's unclad stomach. There was not single sign to betray what was happening inside her, but Setsuna smiled all the same.

"Hello Miranda," she said quietly. "It is nice to meet you. I am Setsuna. You were quite the little surprise, but it looks like you will be a good influence."

"I hope you don't mind," she continued, placing the ornate garnet tip of her staff against Haruka's skin, "but you have something that I need. Don't worry, you won't miss it, it is just a little left-over packing material, but one day it will help a lot of people."

A faint trace of purple vapour began to rise from the contact against Haruka's abdomen, and Setsuna watched with a vague sense of awe. "Don't worry, little one. I will make sure that you have a power of your own one day. Just don't tell your parents. We don't want them to worry before it is time."

The vapour soon ebbed, and Setsuna watched as the strange inert magic swirled within the gem of her staff, before looking back to Haruka's stomach. "Thank you Miranda. You can go back to sleep now. I will see you again soon."

Setsuna paused as Haruka stirred slightly, and the slumbering young woman rolled over onto her side. "Enjoy your lie in, Haruka, Michiru," Setsuna whispered. Then she slipped out as quietly as she had come in, to begin her studies.

At least until Hotaru appeared for breakfast, she amended to herself. It was strange to think that Sailor Saturn, a harbinger of destruction who had filled her with such deathly fear for the future, could have become her own beloved daughter, and have ended up being such a similarly good influence on them all. She would make a very capable older sister indeed.

---

Ami looked at her hair in the mirror as she combed it, wondering whether it was high time to have it cut at last. It was that little bit longer again, and was moving from 'grown out' into the territory of 'untidy'. She liked it being a little longer, like it had been those few weeks before, when she had had too much else to think about besides her appearance, but it was high time she did something with it. It wouldn't do to look too lax when the new university year started. She had always been a little proud that she could be the presentable face of bookish student life.

But, in reality, that was just a distraction. Her mother had given her the message before leaving for work, and had been far too kind about it not to have been a little worried.

Ami and Haruka had not been able to see much of each other, with Ami preparing for new classes for over a week and Haruka and Michiru getting back into their high profile lives, but Haruka had called. She wanted Ami to meet her at the Tenoh/Kaioh/Meioh house. There was something they needed to talk about.

It saddened her as she made herself presentable, but Ami had expected something like this. It was not timed as well as it could have been, but then these things happened. Once Ami had finished she picked up her one and only bag, locked the door behind her as she left, and made the walk to Haruka's.

It was a reasonable distance, but it gave her time to think. Over these last few weeks Makoto had been proved right. Haruka had made time for her, when their circumstances had permitted it. Michiru had been more distant and quiet about the situation, but Ami had most likely been the same towards her. They had all been amicable, allowing each other space when needed, and taking the cues as they were given.

But, naturally, something had to change. Ami and Haruka had started to regret the lack of time they could spend together, and Ami felt guilty about the amount of Haruka's time she took up when Michiru was there. Likewise, Hotaru had confided in her that Michiru felt the same, in her own way, and had consciously tried to give Ami room on those occasions they could meet up. It had all become a little strained, because of the logistics and the over-generous levels of consideration they all gave each other.

This wasn't a contest, or even romantic game. None of them were trying to win. Ami couldn't try and do that in good conscience, and it surprised her that Michiru had not taken that as an advantage. Haruka seemed happy, but at the same time it was obvious that she felt like a cad. She had come to make a joke of it, and they could all laugh it off as such, but that flirtatious humour had masked a definite uneasiness.

And, simply put, an intimate relationship had been impossible. That was Michiru's domain, and Ami could not intrude on that. It was ironic that, since Haruka had admitted that she loved Ami, she had been forced to stay faithful to Michiru. They had come close, but one of them had always turned away, and always for all manner of reasons.

Just as Michiru was undoubtedly jealous of Ami's new place in Haruka's heart, so Ami was jealous that there was still such a rift between them.

She seemed to reach her destination before she knew it, and Haruka was there to open the door, and usher her inside. "Good morning Ami. I'm glad you came."

Ami smiled, despite her fears. It didn't matter how much she thought about it, she was always happy to hear Haruka's voice sound so kind. "Haruka, I'm sorry, but can we move past the pleasantries today. As happy as I am to see you again after all my study preparations, I know there is a reason you asked me here."

Haruka nodded, swallowing her prepared line, and lead her inside. "Yes, that's true." She sat herself down on her favourite chair, and offered Ami the settee. "Ami, I know things have got a bit tense for us. I don't like seeing you like that, or Michiru."

Ami nodded, glad to hear Michiru's name there. It would hurt, but at least it would be honest.

"And," Haruka continued, "I know it's your birthday in a few days, just after your new term starts."

Ami looked up in surprise. It was true, she would be the last of the 'inners' to turn twenty, and in less than a week but...

"But we thought we could offer you a present a little early," Haruka finished. She looked at Ami seriously, but wore a genuine and slightly hopeful smile. "Would you like to live here? With us."

Ami almost choked. "W-what? Haruka, how can you say..."

Haruka didn't let her finish. "Ami..." she said, trying to collect her own thoughts enough to explain properly. "We seem to be working when we are all together, don't we? I know it's a delicate situation, but it seems that it troubles us most when we have to be making time for each other. Both you and Michiru, you keep trying so hard to 'play fair', and that is making you both act awkwardly when the other isn't around! I want to love you as an equal Ami, and I want Michiru to stop hiding from you."

"Hiding?" Ami echoed. "Haruka, she can't want this. I don't even know if I can believe it."

"Ask her," Haruka replied. "We all talked about this." She turned away from Ami and looked at the door to the hall. "Michiru. I know you are there."

Ami just watched as the door swung open, and she saw Michiru leaning against the frame. "Michiru-san."

Michiru sighed, and walked over to take her own favourite seat, staring at her hands. "You're right Ami-chan," Michiru said. "I don't want this..."

Ami was about to speak, but Michiru forged ahead. "But I'm not the only one I have to consider. You are a good friend, Ami-chan, and I am tired of exhausting myself over this. I never expected this contest of ours to last. I thought that either Haruka would choose you, or you would decide not to pursue her any longer. As long as I continued to love her, without backing down, I thought one of our relationships would prevail.

"But you didn't back down, and yet Haruka didn't choose one of us over the other. Now, Hotaru is convinced that you are as much a part of this family as any of us, and I cannot think of any rational reason why she should not, despite my best efforts." She looked up, smiling in resolution. "In our inaction, my choice has been made for me. I will not leave my family, but at the same time I would never be able to forgive myself if I went back on my word. You are going to be yet another very unique 'father' Ami-chan, and I will not deny you the chance to see your child grow up."

She looked over to Haruka's stomach, and then back to Ami. "She will start showing eventually. That is as definite a beginning of that life as we will be able to understand. I am prepared to be Michiru-mama for a second child, I am even looking forward to it a little, and I am willing to learn to live with you as 'Ami-papa'."

Haruka nodded. "That's the reason," she finished for her. "If you want to, then we won't have to worry about who is overstepping whose bounds, because we'll all be here, and I'll try to be fair too. I know Hotaru and Setsuna would both be happy to have you. I have to go and get my first ultrasound soon too. It's scheduled for the ninth."

The ninth of September, Ami thought. Just one day before her birthday.

Ami looked to Michiru again. "But... what about..."

"If you are worried about sleeping arrangements," Michiru said, "we have more rooms here than we need." And she went beyond that, just to make herself clear. "I don't think I can share a bed with you both, Ami-chan. But if we are going to live together, we shall have to try and be fair. Can you live with that?"

"I... don't know," Ami replied honestly. "But I have known that you two have been with each other all this time. I've been so jealous of that, but I still love Haruka."

Michiru nodded, letting out a sigh. "Then I suppose it will have to be my turn to know what that feels like. Maybe it is fitting."

Ami shook her head. "I haven't said I will accept."

"But you will," Michiru said. "As hard as it might be, we will both continue to try our best. We will just stop pretending that we still think of it as a competition."

Haruka, however, was far more practical about the matter. "If you don't want to, then that's okay Ami. It is quite selfish of me to suggest it."

"Selfish?" Ami asked, breaking into a trembling smile. "I never thought... I want to! I want to try. But only if you mean it, both of you."

Haruka nodded without a thought, smiling from ear to ear. Michiru still had her reservations, but she paused only briefly. She had already made her decision. Following through with it might be difficult, but she was not going to surrender now. "You do not need my permission Ami-chan. I said that I am willing to learn how to do this, if you want to be here. As long as you let me cry myself to sleep tonight." She said it with a laugh, but it was obvious how much she was worried about the idea of her first night knowing Haruka was with someone besides herself. "And don't look like that Ami-chan. I can endure a little more heartache. I simply do not have your strength yet."

Ami looked concerned, and got to her feet. "It's not strength Michiru-san. I just... I know how it has to be for you both. And please don't say that. I wouldn't be able to stay tonight anyway." She turned to Haruka. "I have to talk to my mother, and there is a lot to sort out."

"Do you think she won't understand?" Haruka asked.

To their surprise Ami shook her head. "I think she might be concerned, but she and I have reached an understanding. As long as it is you, she will not object, as long I assure her that it is all alright. If nothing else, she knows that I am old enough to make my own mistakes!"

Then, from behind her, Hotaru's voice drifted into the room. "Is it alright to come in yet?"

Haruka and Michiru nodded and Hotaru, clad in a lavender sundress, walked in with a hesitant air. "It's okay, Ami-papa?"

Ami stood staring at her open and honest face as she joined them, and all at once she burst into tears. Hotaru looked mortified as Ami hugged her, sobbing openly over her shoulder. "Ami-san! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!"

"It's okay," Ami sobbed, holding the girl. "Oh God, I never thought this could happen." She choked back her tears and stood back up straight. "I'm sorry Hotaru-chan. You really don't think I'm intruding?"

Hotaru sighed, realising what Ami was thinking, and shook her head. "I'm not a child any more Ami-papa. You've all been happy together already, so this is just the next step, right? It would be a shame if you couldn't be here for my little brother or sister too. And anyway," she said with a smile, "I like having my parents as friends too. So, getting a friend for a new parent, sort of, is kind of nice."

Michiru had to admit, her daughter made it sound so simple. "Come on Hotaru, we have to go and tell Setsuna."

"Like I said," the teenaged girl sighed, "I'm not a child any more Michiru-mama." Of course, while she wasn't a child, she was sensitive enough not to say exactly why they were leaving Haruka and Ami to it. She just coloured a little and made for the door while Michiru followed, explaining that she knew what it was like, but that she wasn't ready to have her little girl explaining that she understood too much just yet.

"So," Haruka said, getting to her feet and wiping away the tears on Ami's cheeks, "you do want to live here?"

Ami nodded, beaming. "I've never had a better present." She looked down, before wrapping her arms around the taller woman. "I know what Michiru-san means. I don't think I can... be there with you both..."

"I'm not asking you too," Haruka said, returning the embrace. "I don't know how it will work either."

Ami nodded into Haruka's shirt. "I love you though. I'll try my best, and I'll do everything I can to make Michiru-san happy too. And Hotaru-chan, and Setsuna-san." She found herself laughing. "This is going to be so strange!"

"I think Hotaru has it right," Haruka replied. "It's only a little stranger than what we are used to here, at least from the outside."

"So," Ami asked, picking up that observation, "what will you tell your fans about us all, and the baby? It will be hard to explain."

Haruka shrugged. "Who says we have to say anything? It was a dear and trusted donor, and we of all people don't need any more reasons to have another resident here. People have always thought what they like about Michiru, Setsuna and myself. Now they can speculate about you too, if they want." She lifted Ami's head from her shirt. "If we have to, we can make something up. As long as you are okay with people speculating. It doesn't bother us, but I know Hotaru doesn't like it."

"I can ignore people whispering," Ami replied. "I learned not to pay any attention to it at school."

She leaned up, and her lips touched against her new partner's. "Thank you Haruka," she whispered, allowing her tears to flow again. "I love you."

Haruka leaned into the kiss, stroking away Ami's new tears with her thumb as she held her. "Sorry I got you into all this," she said. "But I love you too."

Then she cracked a smile, and pulled them together until their stomachs touched. "So, do you think you can come for the ultrasound?"

Ami had to giggle at how exited Haruka sounded. She had to admit, her own heart skipped a beat at the thought. "I will be able to manage something."

---

At the back of the house Michiru sighed, watching as Setsuna stared intently at her Garnet Rod. Hotaru had been happy to head back to her room, leaving her to inform Setsuna of Ami's answer, and in typical fashion Setsuna hadn't seemed in the least surprised.

Instead she just looked up from her Senshi staff. "Are you okay?"

Michiru nodded. "I'll be fine. Ami-chan isn't staying tonight anyway. At least I can cry into Haruka's arms." Setsuna gave her the same look that Ami had, and Michiru let out another sigh. "Setsuna, don't. It has been decided, and we never said it would be easy. They have their own misgivings as well. The least we can do is try and make it work."

"And," she added, moving over to lean against the wall beside her co-mother's desk, "even if it doesn't work, you're the one who said it. We will always have our times together and our times apart, and it will always be for the best. Right?"

Setsuna nodded, smiling to herself. "Something like that. Do not worry Michiru. I think Ami-chan will surprise you. You might surprise yourself as well."

Michiru shook her head at Setsuna's elliptical advice. "Would you care to elaborate on that, or is this a mystical prophesy to keep me occupied at night?"

Setsuna chuckled. "You will be beside them at the ultrasound, won't you?"

Michiru paused, and her expression softened. "Yes. Of course I will."

"There you are," Setsuna replied. "Isn't that all the reassurance you need?"

Michiru looked at her with deadpanned eyes. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"Yep."

But, as exasperating as Setsuna was at times, Michiru could see her point. She would be there together with Haruka and Ami to see their new child, and when that happened, at least for that short while, she doubted that anything else would matter. For all the complications Ami had brought, it was a wonderful gift.

The thought brought a warm flush to her. She was going to be a mother again. One of three, true, but that was the kind of motherhood she knew. And, thinking back to Hotaru's all too brief childhood, she wouldn't have traded it for the world.

She smiled to herself, and shook her head. "I wonder what the others are going to think of this."

"I don't know," Setsuna said, a hint wickedness tweaking at her smile. "It is all so scandalous Michiru: lesbians living under the same roof as other women, and all masquerading as parents to boot! But with all of our girls, I am thinking a certain surprise birthday party would sound about right."

Michiru's smile wavered, only to be replaced with an impish smirk as she imagined Ami on the receiving end. A very red faced Ami, holding her hands in her lap, driven mute by the embarrassment of it! Once Michiru had got that good, heart-aching cry out of her system it would be the ideal sort of revenge. "You know Setsuna, I think you might be right."

---

The End

---

Author's Note: Well, there it is. It's been a fun trip. Almost two years in the making if you include Fallen Stars. My most sincere thanks to everyone who has kept reading for all this time. I hope you have all enjoyed it as much as I have.

Please leave a review with any comments and criticisms you have. They are always greatly appreciated, and there is no better reward for a writer than to hear back from the readers.

Many thanks to Richard King for his proofreading assistance.

(c) Nutzoide 2007


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